In a way replicating the training reportedly given to school teachers in United States of America (USA) on ‘how to shoot a gun, and handle a weapon’ due to the rampant problem of gun shooting in schools, the Delhi Police joined hands with the Delhi Education Department, for training teachers and school staff of all government and private schools on how to handle bomb threats even as the fear of such threats through emails continue to loom among the school authorities in the National Capital since May.

This comes as an extension of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s ‘Samvaad’ program where in a meeting with teachers, they raised the issue of Drug Abuse, Cyber Hygiene and recent Bomb threat emails. Multiple schools in Delhi have received hoax bomb threats in the last 10 days. The threats disrupted classes and triggered multi-agency search operations.

In an effort to empower teachers and school authorities, on Monday, the Delhi Police Shahdara District and Crime Branch Unit of Delhi Police in collaboration with Director of Education Department, Delhi, Veditha Reddy, IAS jointly organised a training program for teachers in Delhi. The program aimed to educate teachers from government and private schools on how to handle bomb threats in schools, the role of teachers in preventing drug abuse, and cyber hygiene (CyGene) awareness.

Approximately 247 teachers from East Delhi participated in the program where they were sensitised about security and “Cyber Hygiene’ (CyGene) in schools. “The Delhi Police and the Delhi Education Department are committed to ensuring the safety and security of our schools. This training program is an important step towards achieving this goal, and we are proud to have had the opportunity to work with the Delhi Education Department to make it a success,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said.

In the training, teachers learned how to respond to bomb threats in schools, including evacuation procedures and communication protocols. They were also educated on the role they can play in preventing substance abuse among students, including identifying warning signs and providing support.

Teachers learned about the importance of Cyber hygiene in schools, including how to protect student data and prevent cyber bullying. Retired ACP Prabhat Sinha, who is an expert in Cyber Crime, presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation on CyGene, sharing insights on the growing threats of cybercrime, offered practical prevention measures, and discussed case studies to highlight the challenges teenagers face in the digital world.

The session also focused on real-life case studies relating to issues faced by students concerning both cyber hygiene (CyGene) and drug abuse, providing teachers with tools to identify and address these problems effectively. “The teachers, as future influencers, have a direct impact on students. It is crucial that they are well-equipped with the knowledge of current issues such as cyber hygiene (CyGene) and drug abuse to ensure the safety and well-being of their students,” said Gautam.

The session concluded with a lecture and PowerPoint presentation on hoaxes, educating teachers on identifying hoaxes, scams and other malicious online activities that can pose risks to students.