Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday announced a plan to provide compulsory training in the National Cadet Corps for students in government schools and colleges located in districts close to the border with Pakistan.

Singh said it would it would help youngsters become employable in the armed and paramilitary forces, besides inculcating a sense of discipline in them. He took the decision at a high-level meeting in Chandigarh on Monday.

The chief minister said a pilot project would be launched to make National Cadet Corps training compulsory for students of Classes 9 and 11 and first two years of college in Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts. There are 365 high schools and 365 senior secondary schools in these districts, according to Outlook.

The chief minister also set a 10-day deadline for the government to identify and prepare lists of critical vacancies across the state to be filled on priority. He also directed the government to extend the online transfer policy to all departments. The online transfer policy was first introduced in the Education Department to make transfer transparent.

Singh said about 29,000 vacancies in various departments could be filled in the first phase and another 15,000 posts to be filled in the second phase next year.