BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to equip more girl students with self-defence techniques, the Higher Education department on Friday directed 195 colleges of the state to form self-defence clubs this year.
Girl students (18 to 25 years of age) of Plus Three first year will be trained by women professionals and PETs under the clubs. The colleges include 43 government and 152 aided. The initiative aims to equip young girls with self-defence skills, enabling them to recognise potential dangers including physical assault, molestation and harassment and protect themselves besides building confidence in their abilities.
Department officials informed the clubs will have principals of the colleges as their heads and would carry out two core activities - self-defence training and creating awareness on it through cultural activities.
The training sessions will be conducted for an hour for 20 days, beyond teaching hours. The department has drawn a training curriculum for the colleges to be implemented through the clubs. A sum of Rs 50,000 has been released in favour of each of the selected 195 colleges.