Need for School Safety Initiative

Disaster Profile of Bihar

Bihar is prone to multi-hazards like:

Floods,

Earthquake,

Drought,

High Winds,

Cold wave as well as

Village fires in summer

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Floods:

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Flood facts: 28 districts out of 38 are prone to floods.

• Bihar accounts for 17% of the flood-prone area and 22% of the flood-affected population in India.

Estimate shows that 73% of total land area in the state is vulnerable to flood and 76% of the North Bihar is affected by floods.

Recurrent low to moderate flooding every year and high floods every 3 years.

Bihar faced four major floods in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2008……..

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Earthquake

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EQ Facts

Seismic zone V (Highest) - 07 districts

Seismic zone IV (High) - 21 districts

Seismic zone III (Moderate) – rest of the dist.

• 1934 EQ (intensity 8.1)- approx. 25000 people lost lives (10000 only in Bihar)

• 1988 EQ (intensity 6.8) – close to 375 people died

• 2011 EQ (intensity 6.8)- 9 lives lost in Bihar

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Drought

• Southern part of the state (13 dist.) suffer from drought.

• Bihar faced moderate to severe drought in 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.

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Children and Emergencies:• Disaster statistics is not child segregated, a rough

estimate report children account for 30-40percent of the total casualties in any disaster.

• Children are also the most invisible in most ofdisaster preparedness, response, recovery andrehabilitation processes.

• Factors such as age affect their vulnerability andability to cope and survive in a disaster.

• Depend on others for support and most of thesesupport systems may suddenly collapse orweaken during disasters.

Impact on Children:• A sense of panic, fear and confusion engulfs the child

when the caregivers either not around or unable tomeet their needs.

• Suffers varying levels of deprivation and psycho-social-loss of familiar environment , toys etc.

• Vulnerability to exploitation, abuse including trafficking,child labour and ill health.

• Find it difficult to cope, in the process becomewithdrawn and non- communicative.

• Disasters shatter sense of well-being of a child bydestroying normal life routines and deeply hamperprocess of their development.

• Children are at greater risk of having their rightsviolated in times of emergencies.

• In emergency situations the State is often unable orunwilling to ensure the rights and protection ofchildren.

Impact on Education:

• Education bears the first brunt in almost all emergencies- education is suspended/ disrupted for unlimited period.

• Schools are closed

• Converted to shelters

• Teachers are engaged in relief operations

• Interruption in education results in studentsdrop out, negative and permanent socio-psycho impacts on children.

Legal Instruments and Policy Frameworks in India

Several legal instruments and policy frameworksendorse the fundamental right of adults and children toaccess education. These are:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)• 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights• DM Act- 2005• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)• World Declaration on Education For All (EFA)• Inter-Agency for Education in Emergencies (INEE)-

Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, • Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

2009• Sarva Shikshak Abhiyan (SSA)

Disaster Management Act-2005

• Enacted in 2005 by Parliament

• DM authorities at: national, state and district level

• Formation of dedicated force: NDRF & SDRF

• Dedicated training institutions: NIDM

• Funds: NCCF, SDRF

• APPROACH:

1. Paradigm Shift from Response Centric to a Holistic and Integrated

Approach.

2. Backed by – Institutional Framework and Legal Authority.

3. Supported by Financial Mechanism, Creation of new Funds, i.e., Response

Fund and Mitigation Fund at National, State and District levels.

Safe Schooling – It Matters• The Supreme Court of India on 13th April, 2009 directed all the

States and Union Territories to implement the safety measures prescribed by the National Building Code of India, 2005 in all government and private schools. While hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Court has issued a comprehensive time-bound plan to ensure safety of children in schools in the light of the Kumbakonam fire tragedy in Tamil Nadu in July 2004.

• All the Educational Institutions to have DM Plans in place

• Schools, institutions who need to seek affiliation need to have DM plans in place

• All new educational institutions need to adhere to building codes.

• Retrofitting of existing buildings

Right to Education Act

• Legal Obligation

• Responsibility of the Government

• Safe and Secure Environment

• Learning without Fear

• Age and Grade Appropriate

• Out of School Children

Education for All• The ‘Education For All’ reaffirms the notion of

education as a fundamental human right

• Address the basic learning needs and quality education in all its aspects

• Aiming for a situation where children can achieve excellence.

• Quality of education in its core includes concerns for quality of life in all its dimensions i.e. education, equality, safety and protection for every child.

Quality EducationEncompasses:• Good teaching: well trained teachers who are paid

adequately, using methods focusing on the learners’ needs;• Well equipped schools and learning centers: books, other

materials and equipment available to stimulate learners;• Safe schools: places where all learners, especially girls, are

safe from danger or harassment;• Enough instruction in the right languages: an adequate

number of hours each week and each year, beginning in the learners’ own language and introducing other languages that they need;

Quality education is for everyone, not only a few people or a few places.

United Nation’s Convention on Rights of the Child, 1989

• UNCRC is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.

• Every child has the right to feel safe at home, at school and in the community

• Every child has the right to live and learn in a safe, positive and balanced environment

No task is as important as creating a safe learning environment for our future generation

who are harbingers of change.

Please………..

Don’t make disaster management a subject

It is more than just a subject

Make it a HABIT

THANK YOU !!!