Education Minister Kuber Dindor made an announcement on Friday regarding a program to provide CPR training to over two lakh school and college teachers on December 3 and 17.
Speaking to the media in Gandhinagar, Dindor stated that Gujarat will be the first state to offer mass CPR training to its teachers after police personnel. He mentioned, “More than 2 lakh teachers from kindergarten to postgraduation, in all government and aided schools and colleges of the state, will be given CPR training.”
He also mentioned that while he will launch the CPR training session at Godhra Civil Hospital, MoS Education Praful Pansheriya will do the same at Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research.
The teachers will receive training from more than 2,500 doctors and medical professionals at 37 medical colleges throughout the state. The training will take place from 10 am to 6 pm and certificates will be awarded to those who complete the training. Dindor also highlighted that there have been 1,052 deaths due to heart attacks in Gujarat over the last six months, with 80% of them occurring in the 11-25 age group.
He emphasized the importance of the CPR training in reducing the fear among youths, as they have been increasingly affected by cardiac arrests.
Dindor urged all teachers to participate in the CPR training and help save lives.
When asked about the source of his data, Dindor revealed that it was not from the health department or government data, but rather from television debates and newspaper reports.
Health Minister Rushikesh Patel, when questioned about Dindor’s claim, stated that he was not aware of the numbers cited. However, he assured that the government is addressing the issue and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is studying the situation.
An article in The Indian Express had previously reported that 52,943 cardiac emergency calls were made to the 108 number in 2023, with a percentage of calls coming from the 11-20 and 21-30 age groups.