Disaster Management in Education -

National Perspective

GoI – UNDP, DRM Programme

Disasters both manmade and natural have
affected mankind since time in memorial
 Some recent disasters…..
 Earthquake in Pakistan –
2005
 Earthquake and tsunami in
the Indian coast - 2004
 Gujarat Earthquake - 2001
 Floods in Mumbai, West
Bengal
 Cyclone: Rita, Wilma etc…..
 Fire: Kumbakonam, Dabwali
 Terrorist attack: Chechnya

And the list goes on and on……………

Disasters occur in varied forms

Some are predictable in advance

Some are annual or seasonal
Some are sudden and unpredictable
Floods Days and weeks
Earthquakes Seconds/minutes
Cyclones Days
Droughts Months
Why is Disaster Management
Important to Us?
 57% of the land area is prone to Earthquakes
 12% to Floods
 8% to Cyclones
 70% of the cultivable land is prone to drought
85% of the land area is vulnerable to number of
natural hazards
 22 states are prone to multi hazards.
WHY? And WHAT about Man made
Disasters?
 Fig: 2.1.6

Zone Magnitude

Zone V Very High Risk

Quakes of
Magnitude 8 and
greater
Zone IV High Risk
Quakes upto
Magnitude 7.9
Zone III Moderate Risk
Quakes upto
Magnitude 6.9
Zone II Seismic
Disturbances upto
Magnitude 4.9

Source: IS 1893 (Part 1) : 2002 (BIS)

Am I safe in
my school?
Tenth Five Year Plan emphasizes on:

 Planning for safer national development

 Disaster prevention, mitigation and
preparedness measures
 Capacity building
 Training and education at all levels
 4 Major areas of concern are:

 Inclusion of disaster management in school

curriculum
 Disaster management, awareness and
preparedness in schools.
 Safety of school from natural hazards –
structural and non structural.
 Preparation of the Disaster Management
Plans at school level
 What is a safe school?
 A safe school is either
a school which is
located in a hazard
free area, or one that
has been constructed
to withstand the
hazard to which it is
exposed.
 A safe school will not
collapse or get
affected if a disaster
happens.
 Government of India initiatives:
1) Inclusion of disaster management in
school curriculum
 The process was initiated with a set of
recommendations to be put in place by the state
govt. from Home Secretary to the Chief Secretaries
of the states- one of them being DM in
EDUCATION.
 Introduction of DM in Class VIII, IX and X as part of
the frontline curriculum by CBSE.
 Many of the state Boards have already introduced
DM in school syllabi.
 Syllabus
 Class VIII
1. Being prepared – a vital part of disaster
management
2. Earthquakes
3. Cyclones
4. Floods
5. Droughts and
6. Manmade Disasters
 Class IX
1. Being a disaster manager – Understanding key
terms.
2. Components of disaster management
3. Introduction to disaster risk management –
Understanding disaster mitigation.
4. Specific hazards and mitigation.
– Earthquake, landslide, food, cyclone and drought
5. Preventing common manmade disasters
– Fire, rail and road accidents, terrorist attacks
 Class X
1. Introduction
2. Tsunami - the killer sea wave
3. Survival skills
4. Alternative communication systems….during
disasters.
5. Safe constructional practices
6. Sharing responsibilities
7. Planning Ahead
 Class XI – (Sociology and
Geography)
– Introduction
Sociology
– Child rights and emergencies
– Gender and Disaster Management
– Role of Community in disaster Management
– Role of Local Level institutions in Disaster
Management
 Class XI - Geography

 Introduction to concepts
 Flood
 Cyclone
 Earthquake
 Tsunami
 Landslide
 2) Disaster management - awareness
and preparedness in schools.
 Teachers training
programme
– 33 teachers’ trained so
far by CBSE
– Training of teachers by
the States.

Disaster Management NOT a subject but…………..

A NECESSARY LIFE SKILL
 School safety weeks and months observed

Training on Self Defence by Civil Defence in

NP Girls Senior Secondary School.
Training on fire safety
Development of coloring book for the
primary section
 3) Preparation of School DM plans

 Schools to prepare DM
plans based on the
hazard that they are
vulnerable to.
– More than 500 plans
have been prepared
 Steps for preparation of DM
Plans
1. Sensitisation meeting for awareness Teachers, School Management
and students.
2. Formation of School Disaster Management Committee

• School principal
• Vice principal
• Sub Divisional Magistrate of the area
• DEO (District Education Officer)
• President of Parents Teachers Association
• Parents (1-2)
• Local Medical Officer
• Market trader association
• Fire Officer
• Police
• Members of Civil Society (NCC,NSS, Red Cross, Scouts and Guides)
• 4 Students
 Steps for preparation of DM Plans
(cont…)

3. Hazard identification
• History of disasters
• Identification of potential hazard
• Preparation of seasonality calendar
4. Inventory of resources
5. Mapping
• Social Mapping
• Resource Mapping
• Vulnerability / Risk Mapping
• Safe and Opportunity Mapping
 Social Mapping - Schools

 Class rooms in the school building

 Laboratories
 Play Ground
 School Canteen
 Library
 Resource Map - Schools
 Human resources
 School Buses
 Generators
 Fire extinguishers
 Stretchers
 Drinking water sources
 Health Centre in the school
 Vulnerability/ Risk Map - School
 Children in pre- school and primary section
 Physically challenged
 Identification of potentially vulnerable areas
in the school
 Safe and Alternate route Mapping

 Identification of safe places in the school

 Alternative staircases/ routes to be
identified
 6. School DM Team
Early Warning Team

School teacher
Student (3 nos. most communicative)

Activity/ Event Organising Team

Disaster management teacher

Art and Craft teacher Music teacher
Prefects/ active students
 School DM Team:

Search and Rescue

–Sports teachers
–Male teacher
–Prefect (students 2nos)

Evacuation
–All class teachers
 School DM Team……..
– First Aid team
 Resident doctor of the school/medical consultant
 Teachers 2nos.
 Students 2 numbers (10th / 12th class)
 Disaster DM Team….

Fire safety
Teachers (2 numbers)
Students (4 numbers, 10th class)

Site security team

School security staff

Teacher (1 numbers)
Students (2 numbers)
7. Training of School Disaster
Management Teams

 Search and Rescue

First Aid
Trauma Counseling
Fire fighting
8. Planning to be disseminated to
everyone in the School.
 9. Mock Drill

 Drills to be carried out twice a

year
 Drills should be hazard specific
 10. Plan Updation

 Plans to be updated every six

months
 Plan to be approved by the Disaster
Management Committee
N.C Jindal School DM Plan - Delhi
Senior section….
 NCERT initiatives
 Development of training modules for the
teachers and teacher educators’.
 Safety in Schools
 Midday meals
 Health, well being and safety of students
 Safety of School buildings

 Focus on structural and non-structural safety.

Mexico Earthquake

School Building
Non - structural safety
Because books represent a considerable mass, strong anchorage
and bracing of the shelves in both main directions is necessary
A glance into this
side street
reveals a vast
amount of fallen
façade materials.
Rescue work, fire
trucks access,
etc. is seriously
hampered.
 Bicycle rickshaw driver taking children home after School. New Delhi.

Making Schools Safer Before the Next Disaster Strikes

Thank You
 Contact Details:

Mr Dillip Kumar Bhanja

State Project Officer
GoI – UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme
E- Mail:-
dilipkumar.bhanja@undp.org
Mobile: 09431417148