Principals, headmasters authorised to fine tobacco violators near school

In order to ensure complete ban on tobacco use around the educational institutes, the state education department has directed the school principals and headmasters to penalise anyone found smoking or consuming tobacco products on or outside the campus.

The department has issued a notice on Friday evening to principals and headmasters of schools on the basis of revised guidelines of ministry of health and family welfare for “tobacco-free educational institutions” to implement the directions immediately. The schools were also told to draw paintings and install hoardings to motivate people to quit smoking along with signboards mentioning “tobacco-free zone” on their premises.

Officials have asked the district education officers (DEOs) and block education officers to ensure implementation of the order.

“Educational institutes have been directed to ensure that no tobacco products are sold within 100 yards of the premises. Management can also enroll parents, society and NGOs to implement the order effectively while headmasters and principal of the schools can panalise the violator,” Mohammad Tayyab, director general (school education) stated in his letter.

He said in order to implement the guidelines strictly, schools have been advised to assign the teachers the role of ‘tobacco monitors’. They have been also asked to mention name, designation and contact number on the signboard, which would be installed inside the school.

The letter also quoted the statistics of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2016-17), according to which 28.6% of adults (15 year and above) in India use tobacco while overall there are about 27 crore tobacco users. 20 crore of them are smokeless tobacco users, 10 crore smokers and 3.2 crore use smoking as well as consume smokeless tobacco, the letter mentioned quoting the survey. Over 13 lakh people die from tobacco every year and about 3,500 people die every day across the country, it stated in the latter.

The alarming figure call for need to prevent smoking and students should be sensitised about its harmful effect by displaying and disseminating messages in different forms against its use at prominent places in the educational institutes, the letter read.