Dimapur, September 16 (MExN): Under directives of the School Education department, the Nagaland Board of School Education today directed all heads of institutions ‘to generate awareness’ and inculcate basic disaster-management activities. The NBSE today issued a circular directing all heads of institutions to ‘generate awareness’ by identifying potential critical incidents, to developing a whole new approach to safety and health. Likewise, safety and disaster management plans are to be put in place.
“In case of disaster, children, particularly groups of children in classrooms will be most vulnerable to serious injury. It is therefore of the utmost importance that teachers who have undergone trainings on Disaster Management organize sensitization sessions in their respective schools,” NBSE secretary Asano Sekhose stated.
Institutions are to conduct mock drills for various hazards such as fire and earthquakes, impart knowledge and trainings on life-saving skills to teachers, students and to the community at large. “Because hazards strike without warning, life-protecting actions must be taken. Earthquake drills must be practiced to help students and staffs learn how to react immediately and appropriately. Students should learn and practice where to seek shelter and how to protect themselves so that precious lives be saved,” the NBSE stated.
Disasters both manmade and natural have affected mankind since time immemorial. Disasters of varied forms such as earthquakes, landslides, cyclones, droughts, floods and fire can be predictable, seasonal or sudden and unpredictable. “Our state is highly prone to landslides and seismic activity. Like other North-Eastern states of India, Nagaland lies in the seismic zone V (fifth). This is the most severe seismic zone and is referred to as the Very high Damage Risk Zone,” NBSE stated.
“However, destruction from natural hazards can be minimized by a well-functioning warning system combined with preparedness on the part of the community. Pre-disaster management have gained unprecedented importance over post-disaster management,” the school board stated. Acknowledging that disaster planning is relatively a new subject to the education system, NBSE said they should be fused with school safety planning. Apart from awareness and preparedness, the NBSE stated, one major area of concern is the safety of the school “both structural and non-structural.”
“It should be ensured that schools are safe by either locating in hazard-free areas or by constructing buildings that can withstand the hazard. When an incident does occur, schools should be able to contain and control events,” the NBSE said. The NBSE said control-systems can be placed by planning in advance and anticipating as many health and safety variables as possible. “This is to ensure that correct decisions are taken quickly and effectively on the day of a crisis, which again depends on the time spent on pre-planning for disaster,” the NBSE stated.
