THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For all its advantages, cyberspace is still full of pitfalls. And frequently, it is the active but vulnerable young minds that fall victim to those.
To prevent this, the police and general education departments have joined hands to train around 1.7 lakh schoolteachers across the state on cyber safety and related aspects.
The idea: Use the teachers to impress upon the nearly 38 lakh students, right from lower primary to higher secondary sections, in the state the need to use the internet responsibly to avoid pitfalls like online bullying, grooming by sexual predators, cyber addiction and others. The plan, say the authorities, is to impart classes on these topics during the five-day refresher course for teachers that begins on May 13.
“Master trainers, who are teachers themselves, will handle the classes on cyber safety. The modules will have content that can instil basic awareness on cyber offences. The course material is being prepared in a way that allows teachers to share the information with students from lower primary to higher secondary classes,” said State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) director Jayaprakash R K.
There is also a plan to sensitise parents about cyber safety and allied aspects. “The teachers will interact with them on the topics. The menace can be dealt with only by creating a joint front of teachers, students and parents,” he said.
A senior police officer who is part of the exercise said they have prepared customised 90-minute modules for the teachers. “Issues such as cyber grooming, online bullying, mobile addiction and unauthorized access to private data, which are increasingly affecting students from Class 1 to Class 12 will be discussed,” the cop said, adding that each module features stories inspired from real-life, interactive quiz and actionable prevention strategies, all delivered in Malayalam to ensure accessibility and retention.
The modules for teachers employ emotionally-resonant storytelling, such as the tale of ‘Rajina’, a high school student manipulated into sharing personal content by a predator, to help them build empathy and alertness in students.
These stories are followed by structured discussions on consequences, legal protections under the IT and the Pocso Acts, and practical steps like using privacy settings, avoiding unknown contacts and speaking up without fear.
For teachers handling lower classes, the modules place emphasis on parental supervision and understanding what constitutes inappropriate contact or media. For those managing teens, the modules delve into the psychology of social media influence, unauthorised access, and the risks of digital oversharing.