BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Schools across China launched programs to raise awareness of national security among young people on the country's 4th National Security Education Day, which falls Monday.

The programs included exhibitions, lectures and community visits.

"I used to think national security was too serious to be relevant to me," said Jin Zhilei, a freshman student of Shanxi Medical University. "Now I am aware it is relevant to everyone, and we should be alert."

This year's campaign for the first time included students of continuing education programs. The Open University of China, a government-sponsored online education institution, launched online courses on national security covering about 3 million students.

"Youth who live in a peaceful, stable environment for long are prone to think that national security is far away from them," said Wu Yujun, professor at Beijing Normal University.

Wu called for the expansion of national security education for the youth, as well as persistence and routinization of the education.