From FOMO To ROMO — 8 Lakh Students, One Mission: A Drug-Free Punjab

In a pioneering move to counter the growing drug crisis among adolescents, the Punjab government has launched a structured, fortnightly, film-led drug prevention curriculum across all 3,600+ government secondary schools.

- Taruni Gandhi Chandigarh

Targeting over eight lakh students in Classes IX to XII, the initiative shifts the state's approach from reactive to preventive—bringing the battle against addiction directly into classrooms.

Titled "From FOMO to ROMO"—shorthand for "Fear of Missing Out" to "Relief of Missing Out"—the curriculum reframes abstaining from drugs as an act of liberation, not deprivation. According to Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, the program is "not just content—it's a shield for our children."

"Instead of waiting for children to fall into addiction and then treating them, we are entering the classrooms to ensure they never get there in the first place," Bains stated.