Dayanand Public School and Gulmohur High School have become the first two schools in Jamshedpur to form a CyberPeace Club that aims to make children involved in cyber safety activities.
The CyberPeace Clubs are handheld by the CyberPeace Foundation, an award-winning civil society organisation that aims to form student and faculty-driven task forces across the country for the welfare and growth of children in the virtual space. It aims to bridge the gap revolving around the protection of children online and enabling them with knowledge that will help them combat threats and risks.
The clubs have been formed as part of a joint initiative involving Whatsapp and the CyberPeace Foundation. The initiative has also trained school students on online safety. In Jharkhand, 3500 students from 13 CISCE and CBSE schools were trained between September and December.
Dayanand Public School. Antara Bose
Vineet Kumar, founder and president of CyberPeace Foundation, explained the role of CyberPeace Clubs in schools and how there will be more engaging activities that will make students aware of cyber safety. "It is high time schools should have ambassadors who can take forward the vision of a safe cyberspace not just within institutions but beyond them," he said.
Rachit Ranjan, who represented Whatsapp, appreciated how teachers have adapted to the situation and have tried their best to make education reach every student. "I thoroughly enjoyed the session. This is a world that is going to impact students. Thus, it becomes important to equip yourself to understand the benefits and pitfalls of social media," said Ranjan.
On Wednesday, the CyberPeace Club of Dayanand Public School organised an online intra school debate on the topic 'Social media is responsible for aggravating mental and emotional health problems'. Students of Dayanand Public School spoke for and against the motion arguing how a balanced social media life would not affect health while excessive use leads to serious psychological issues. The hour-long webinar was attended by school principal Swarna Mishra; a member of the school managing committee Rajiv Talwar; founder and president of CyberPeace Foundation Vineet Kumar and Rachit Ranjan from Whatsapp. Teachers from the school also attended the webinar.
"This is a good initiative which is the need of the hour. We hope to organise a lot more activities in the future," Mishra said.
Gulmohur High School. Antara Bose
On Dec 19, Gulmohur High School also organised an orientation of CyberPeace Club where teachers discussed future plans of the club with students. The school has planned a slogan writing programme in the upcoming months as a part of the CyberPeace Club.
"CyberPeace Club will definitely help all stakeholders to understand the importance of cyber literacy, a must in today's digitally transformed world. We are sure that with the Club functioning, our students will be better equipped and safe to handle worldwide web," said the principal of Gulmohur High School, Priti Sinha.
