Face2News/Chandigarh 

At a time when much of the country continues to debate the drug crisis only after it reaches the streets, Punjab under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has chosen a more courageous and forward-looking path. The state government has taken the fight against substance abuse to where it can really be stopped at the roots, inside schools, by empowering those who shape young minds every single day. 

As part of the Punjab Government’s flagship Yudh Nashean Virudh movement, a large-scale, systematic capacity-building programme is quietly transforming how schools respond to mental health challenges and substance-use risks. Through the Department of Health & and Family Welfare, Department of School Education, and Dr B R Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Mohali, the Bhagwant Singh Mann Government has launched structured training and sensitisation workshops for Heads of Schools across the state, recognising that prevention begins long before addiction takes hold .

This initiative rests on a clear understanding that mental health is not a peripheral issue but the foundation of a child’s emotional, academic and social development. With evidence showing that nearly half of all mental health conditions emerge before the age of 14, the Punjab Government has acknowledged schools as the most critical early-warning system. Anxiety, academic pressure, aggression, bullying and early substance experimentation have all surfaced as growing concerns among adolescents in the state. Instead of ignoring these signals, the Mann Government has chosen early intervention over late-stage reaction.

The scale of the effort reflects the seriousness of intent. In the second phase of Yudh Nashean Virudh, principals from over 6,000 schools will be trained, with special focus on nearly 4,000 senior secondary and high schools across all 23 districts of Punjab. The first phase alone covers 1,463 Heads of Schools in nine districts, with workshops conducted between January 7 and 9, 2026, with a special emphasis on frontier districts that remain the frontline for our war against drugs. These sessions are anchored by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences, Mohali. The facilitators conducting the workshops were trained through a structured Training of Trainers programme by experts from the School Initiative for Mental Health Advocacy, a field-action project of TISS, Mumbai.