Two young enthusiastic civil servants have joined hands on a mission to take Malappuram to further heights in literacy. After having become the country’s first e-literate district 14 years ago, Malappuram is set to achieve a new distinction of being the first cyber literate district in the country.
If the cyber dreams of District Police Chief Prateesh Kumar and District Collector Amit Meena materialise soon, it will be a feather in the cap of Malappuram district in its golden jubilee year.
Converting the dream into a goal, Mr. Prateesh Kumar has begun a drive to reach out to students and youngsters, showing them the treacherous areas of the cyberworld.
“Although many of you have been active in the social media, our knowledge about the cyberworld may be abysmal,” the Superintendent of Police told an audience at Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Kottakkal, the other day.
Proving him right, no student or teacher or parent present there was aware that 13 years was the minimum requirement of age for entering the social media. Many hands that had risen in enthusiasm were lowered in embarrassment as the police chief asked the students if they had attained the minimum age.
“Making them aware of the cyberworld is the best way out to prevent cyber-related crimes,” Mr. Prateesh Kumar told The Hindu .
The police chief is chalking out a detailed plan to reach out to the youth across the district with the message of cyber vigil.
The District Collector has offered him full support in the drive. “It’s high time we taught the youngsters about the positive and negative effects of the social media,” said Mr. Meena, requesting the cooperation of all departments and organisations in conducting the drive.
Hundreds of youngsters who conducted a hartal across the State, triggered by a social media call for protest against the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl at Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir in April, had turned themselves into vandals. Of the 14 districts Malappuram had topped in its ugly response to the social media hartal.
