ITANAGAR, Jul 27: Chief Secretary Satya Gopal stressed on having in place a comprehensive “all-hazards plan” for schools.
Addressing a meeting on school safety policy here on Thursday, Gopal said the plan should take into account “all threats and hazards for a particular school.”
Taking note of the standard operating procedure of the district level action plan, he instructed the district disaster management officers (DDMO) and the DDSEs to train students and teachers alike “for prevention, preparation, response, and recovery” vis-à-vis disasters such as landslide, heavy rain, flood, fire, earthquake, etc.
Gopal also instructed the disaster management department to conduct regular mock drills at schools, “so that students and teachers can practice and get accustomed with what to do in the case of a real emergency.”
To address the shortage of manpower, Gopal advised the disaster management department to train teachers, “so that the teachers can educate the students during assembly sessions at regular intervals.”
This, he said, would “also help to curtail the financial implications involved.”
The CS offered suggestions such as displaying emergency telephone numbers and mobile numbers on school notice boards; conducting seminars on disaster management; and creating awareness on disasters among the students.
Education Secretary Madhu R Teotia informed that it has been made mandatory for schools to conform to the safety standards of the national building code, and that recognition certificates would be issued only to schools which comply with the school safety norms prescribed by the state.
Besides Disaster Management Secretary Bidol Tayeng, the disaster management director, the elementary education director, and the secondary education director were also present in the meeting. (PRO, CS)
