The Uttar Pradesh government has rolled out its most extensive cybersecurity campaign yet to enhance the digital safety of schoolchildren. Additional Chief Secretary (Basic and Secondary Education) Parth Sarathi Sen Sharma has directed all school inspectors to ensure the mandatory implementation of cybersecurity guidelines, training sessions, and awareness activities in every secondary school by December 15.
With increasing reliance on the internet, social media, smart classes, and ICT labs, the department has emphasised the need to educate students, teachers, and parents about safe online behaviour.
Officials will circulate the link and PDF of the cybersecurity guidelines in the WhatsApp groups of principals from government, aided, and self-financed schools. Schools must also upload the guidelines on their website for easy access to students and parents.
A district-level online meeting of all secondary schools will be held to discuss every point of the guidelines in detail. After this, each school will prepare its own cybersecurity action plan covering awareness activities, competitions, classroom lessons, and training programmes. Principals have been instructed to share the guidelines with all teachers and conduct special cybersecurity-focused lessons.
Students will learn internet safety rules through morning assemblies, essay and poster contests, smart classes, and ICT lab activities. Schools must prominently display colour printouts of the Cyber Helpline 1930 and the ‘Stay Alert, Stay Safe’ poster on notice boards and in staff rooms.
To involve parents, schools will send the guidelines through WhatsApp and email and hold focused discussions during PTMs on online fraud, social media risks, and responsible mobile usage.
Several engaging activities have been planned for students, including a poster/meme competition on cyber safety, a call-fraud role-play, a red-flag bingo game, an AI awareness session, and a Digital Detox Day, during which students will stay off social media and participate in offline activities.
Each secondary school will appoint a Cybersecurity Nodal Teacher to supervise all cybersecurity-related activities, maintain records, and support students. During Cyber Awareness Month, schools will be required to organise poster contests, essay writing, short video creation, story writing, cyber hygiene drives, and awareness sessions for children and senior citizens.
The guidelines also address advanced topics such as online radicalisation, hacktivism, cyber warfare, child-related mobile crimes, and cyber grooming. Key safety suggestions include using strong passwords, updated browsers, reporting suspicious messages, saving screenshots safely, avoiding private photo sharing, steering clear of unknown links, and not using hacking tools.
Schools must submit a detailed compliance report on all action points to the Director General of School Education by December 15.