I

(

A Report on

Training of the Trainers (ToT)

School Safety Plan and Safety Audit

Organised by

Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road, Near Attur Layout, YelahankaBangalore - 560 064

Supported by

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT,

(Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India),A-wing, 4th floor, NDCC-U Building, Jai Singh Road,

New Delhi - 110001

27-29 Nov, 2017

Training of the Trainers (ToT)

( School Safety Plan and Safety Audit

Background

Disasters, are defined as "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society

causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability

of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources". Children, due to a range of

factors, including age, physical ability, gender, health conditions and, dependency on care givers,

are extremely vulnerable to disasters. Exposure to disaster may cause a serious disruption in their

healthy growth and development as well as overall well-being. In developing countries like India,

schools are often located in vulnerable areas and unprepared to respond to emergencies. In recent

years, schools in India have witnessed many catastrophic incidents: a fire led to the deaths of over

400 people -about half of them students- at a school's prize giving ceremony in Dabwali

Haryana in 1995; In 2001 a total of 31 teachers died and 95 were injured; 971 students perished

and 1,051were injured in the Bhuj Earthquake, Gujarat.

Given the fact that children are expected to spend majority of their time at school, schools can be

a safe haven to help them slowlymove back to normalcy. Within the safe school premises, essential

supplementarynutrition for children canbe provided, alongwith safewater and sanitation facilities

especially for adolescent girls and boys. In this context, 'Safe Schools' attain very high importance

with a view to ensuring the safety and well being of them. "School Safety" has been defined as the

creation of safe environments for children starting from their homes to their schools and back. This

includes safety from large-scale 'natural' hazards of geological/climatic origin, human-made risks,

violence as well as more frequent and smaller-scale fires, transportation and other emergencies,

and environmental threats that can adversely affect the lives of children. The' 'Hyogo Framework

forAction (HFA) 2005- 2015 - Building the Resilience ofNations and Communities to Disasters",

for the first time, drew attention to school children and youth with the aim of making the

community at large, more aware of the threat of hazards and become better prepared. Ever since,

the is a global consensus has developed to a level that school should be not only resumed at the

earliest in the aftermath of a disaster but also they should be reinforced with all possible measures

to mitigate the adverse impacts of disasters. The concept of school safety in its current form

includes safety issues both inside and outside the school. It includes issues of child protection andsafety that look at all forms of violence and deprivation that affect the physical and mental

(wellbeing of children. As it stands today, School Safety is a concept that encompasses "the creation

of safe environments for children starting from their homes to their schools and back."

National Situation on School Safety

National Policy on Education (NPE) 1968, Revised in 1992, calls for a "child-centred approach"

in primary education, but does not specifically refer to school safety or disaster risk issues of

children. Right to Education Act 2009 which guarantees free and compulsory education to all the

children in the country till the age of 14,stipulates that no school shall be established, or recognized

unless it fulfils the norms and standards specified to ensure safe access and "all weather buildings".

Further, this Act provides for the formation of the SchoolManagement Committee and the School

Development Plan. However, it is the National School SafetyPolicy Guidelines, 2016 which drew

the attention of the decision makers to the urgent need to strengthen risk resilience of schools in

rural as well as urban areas of the country. The Guidelines also emphasize on the need for active

mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in all the school education initiatives in the country. This

. would require a collaborative approach between the state education departments and the state

disaster management machinery. Collaboration would be necessary especially for capacity

development activities such as sensitization of officials, public awareness on disasters, training of

students and teachers; pre-positioning equipments for emergency response, creation of educational

material on disasters and, monitoring of risk.

Several challenges exist in implementation of school safety measures. For instance, there is a

visible disconnect between the 'non-emergency' schemes (Pertaining to Education) such as Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan and Disaster response / preparedness. Education programmes are executed in

most states with little synergy or policy linkages with the State Disaster Management Authority,

(SDMA) / District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). Further, the existing education

machinery is keen to promote safe learning environment for children and teachers but actual

implementation of programmes on groundpoints to limited understanding of the concept of safety.

At best, new school designs incorporate earthquake safety features in many areas, but earthquakes

are not only the disasters. Non-structural elements are often not understood as threats to safety.

Safety issues are discussed and pursued as one off activities at the level of teachers and students.

School timetable and curriculum need suitable modifications to make safety understanding a

routine activity. In this context, National Institute of Disaster Management, Government of India

has developed several knowledge modules aimed at mitigating the disaster risk and preventive

measures.

Time to Ensure School Safety

( Children of school going age or below 18 years constitute approximately 40% of our population

(about 400 million). It is expected that the children spend majority of their time at school, and

hence, 'Safe Schools or School Safety' attains very high importance to ensure their safety and

wellbeing. 'School Safety' has been defined as the creation of safe environment for children

starting from their homes to their schools and back. This includes safety from large-scale 'natural'

hazards of geological/climatic origin, human-made risks, pandemics, violence as well as more

. frequent and smaller-scale fires, transportation and other related emergencies and threats that can

adversely affect the lives of children.

The concept of Safe School has evolved over the last couple of decades as the threat to the physical

wellbeing of children has become more visible both globally and within the country. International

attention was drawn to safety of school children in 'The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA);

Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters', adopted by United Nations

Organization in 2005 during the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. This Framework

underlined the importance of knowledge and education with the aim of making the community at

large, more aware of the threat of hazards and become better prepared. As it stands today, 'School

Safety' is a concept that encompasses "the creation of safe environments for children starting from

their homes to their schools and back".

As follow-up to Hyogo Framework, Government of India has enacted National Disaster

Management Act (2005) and as it mandated by it, Disaster Management Authorities came into

existence at various levels, viz., National, State and at District levels. National Policy on Disaster

Management (NPDM), 2009 was evolved to highlight the need for structural as well as non­

structural safety in schools and educational institutions. This Policy identifies school buildings as

a national priority and enables provision for designing the school buildings/ hostels with

earthquake resilient features and equip them with appropriate fire safety measures. It also

emphasizes on disaster management training, role ofNational Cadet Corps (NCC) and Scouts and

Guides in schools and colleges for disaster management related work. It also recommended the

introduction of disaster management subject in the curriculum through the Central and State

Boards of Secondary Education. However, we had to wait till 2016 to have an explicit policy on

School Safety.

(The National School Safety Policy (2016) Guidelines, stand for a vision of India where all

stakeholders (viz., children, teachers, school personnel, state and district education machinery) are

safe from any kind of risks due to natural hazards. The Guidelines highlight the following key

elements;

• Inclusive and holistic approach to disaster management at school level

• Capacity building of all stakeholders on school safety and disaster preparedness

• Implementing Child Cantered Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction in the local

context

• Mainstreaming risk and safety education in the school curriculum and linking it with

existing government schemes and policies.

These guidelines would have continued to remain in their dormant state only, but for very sad

events happened across the country in recent past and resulting hue and cry has made state

governments to notify guidelines and/or rules pertaining to school safety. For instance, draft

School Safety rules by Karnataka government, Gurgaon Police Guidelines for School safety.

Instead of such knee-jerk reaction, State governments, as recommended in School Safety Policy,

should consider promoting following measures;

At District and Block Level Education Authorities

• Should strengthen institutional commitment to safe learning environment for children

through Co-opting its senior officials at the district level as part of District Disaster

Management Authority (DDMA). Constitute a school safety advisory committee at the

district level and establish a mechanism for monitoring safety parameters in all schools on

a regular basis.

• Plan for safety by Preparing design of child friendly spaces for emergencies in advance,

ensuring all new schools include safety features and preparing block-wise inventory of

schools to be made safer

• Implementation of safety actions in line with national and state norms on school safety and

that all existing as well as new schools conform to safety standards as per the National

Building Code and Review progress on non-structural safety measures in schools

At SchoolLevel, a simple measure such as designating a School Safety Focal Point Teacher (FPT)

to operationally anchor safety related actions at the school level as part of his / her routine

commitments can bring in significant changes. In addition, a cadre of peer educators/trainers can

be formed to ensure that safety messages, dos and don'ts of different disasters reach each and every

( student. Younger generation is most precious for every society and at individual level, every parent

takes utmost care to ensure its safety. If State can also takes required measures, schools can become

a safe haven for children that help them to effectively assimilate the knowledge and prepare them

for future.

Realising the need and also existing gap, KSNDMC in association with NIDM initiated this

program of School Safety Plan and Safety Audit.

National Institute of Disaster Management

The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) was constituted under an Act of

Parliament with a vision to play the role of a premier institute for capacity development in India

and the region. The efforts in this direction that began with the formation of the National Centre

for Disaster Management (NCDM) in 1995 gained impetus with its redesignation as the National

Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for training and capacity development. Under the

Disaster Management Act 2005, NIDM has been assigned nodal responsibilities for human

resource development, capacity building, training, research, documentation and policy advocacy

in the field of disaster management. Believing in disaster risk reduction is possible only through

promotion of a "Culture of Prevention" involving all stakeholders, NIDM works through strategic

partnerships with various ministries and departments of the central, state and local governments,

academic, research and technical organizations in India and abroad and other bi-lateral and multi­

lateral international agencies. It has developed several knowledge modules to promote Culture of

Prevention and conducts training programs regularly.

Pertaining to School Safety, NIDM considers Schools as critical infrastructure entrusted with the

responsibility of creating citizens of tomorrow and a safe and secure environment is a prerequisite

for effective teaching and learning. Ensuring safety of children, teachers and staff members during

disasters is necessary. NIDM prioritise building safe schools in addition to non-structural aspects.

For NIDM, School safety includes within its ambit structural safety of the buildings per se and

non-structuralmeasures like awareness generation, ensuring communication, school preparedness

plans, capacity building of students and teachers, rehearsals and mock drills etc. NIDM has

developed extensive study materials for Scheel Safety and they can accessed at

http://nidm.gov.inlsafety school.asp. NIDM provides Capacity Building support to various

National and State level agencies in the field of Disaster Management & Disaster Risk Reduction.

(The Institute's vision is to create a Disaster Resilient India by building the capacity at all levels for

disaster prevention and preparedness.

Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC)

Karnataka State has the distinction of being first in the country to establish a Drought Monitoring

Cell (DMC) in 1988 as an institutional mechanism affiliated to Department of Science and

Technology, Govt. ofKarnataka. Subsequently in 2007, the DMCwas renamed as Karnataka State

Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) and the activities were broadened to also include

monitoring of other natural disasters viz., Floods, Hailstorms, Gale-Winds, Storm-surges,

Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis etc.

KSNDMC has been identified as the "Nodal Agency" by the Government for taking up

monitoring activities pertaining to all Natural Disasters in the State. Governing Body of

KSNDMC is headed by the Chief Secretary, GoK and Principal Secretary to Govt., Dept of

Revenue (DM) is also one ofthe Vice Presidents - Members comprising the Secretary to Govt.,

Dept of Revenue (Disaster Management) and other line departments and Scientific

organizations.

Executive Committee of KSNDMC is Chaired by Principal Secretary to Govt., Dept., of

Revenue (DM) - Members from line Depts., and Scientific Organizations. KSNDMCprovides

inputs to line departments like Dept. of Revenue, Agriculture, Horticulture, Water Resources,

Watershed Development Department, Fisheries, RDPR and Department of Energy, GoK.

KSNDMC provides inputs to the Farming Community, Agriculture and Horticulture based

sector, Fisherman, Transport sector, Power and Electricity sector, State and District level

Disaster Management Authorities in Karnataka. Besides, the information is being sharedwith

the knowledge centres like State Universities, Research Centres and National Institutes like

ISRO, IMD, CMMACS etc.

KSNDMC uses the state-of-the-art technology, software, web-enabled application for

monitoring the Natural Disasters and is unique in the Country. The Centre has been providing

meso-scale weather forecast at Hobli level, early warning, alerts and scientific reports for

management of Natural Disasters in Karnataka. KSNDMC prepares and disseminates Reports

on Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Seasonal and Annual at Hobli level and also provides Rainfall and

Weather information at Gramapanchayath level. The customized information is disseminated

through SMS, email, Web Portal, SocialNetwork & SocialMedia. The reports and information

"To focus on imparting basic and requisite knowledge/ skills needed by trainers at

various levels in the field of school safety".

in the form of Advisories are provided to the Community in general and to the Farmers in

particular through the 24x7 Help Desk named VARUNA MITRA.(

As a part of the capacity Building towards Disaster Risk Reduction, KSNDMC has been

regularly conducting Training programs to School and College Students, Faculty, Govt

Executives, Media Personnel, Nursing Students, NCC Cadets, Scouts & Guides Cadets, Civil

Defence Peronnel etc. The centre has also been regularly conducting Mass awareness

campaigns towards Natural Disaster Monitoring and Mitigation to the farmers and general

public.

ToT Program on School Safety & Safety Audit

In association with National Institute of Disaster Management, Govt. of India, New Delhi,

KSNDMC organised a Three days Training of Trainers Program from 27thNov to 29thNov

2017 at KSNDMC Campus, Bangalore.

The main Aim of the Training Program was;

The main objectives of the program were

• Promote a culture of disaster preparedness in schools

• Enhanced conceptual understanding of participants on various aspects of disaster risk

reduction and school safety from an inclusive perspective

• Develop competencies of the participants to undertake disaster risk reduction measures

in schools (training of students, staff, and other stakeholders, undertake hazard,

vulnerability, capacity risk analysis etc)

• Enable participants to develop the School Disaster Management Plan (SDMP).

This program was intended for teachers and professionals working in the field of school safety

and training program was based on the school safety module designed by NIDM.

A total of 34 participants from District Institute of Education & Training (DIET), Govt. of

Karnataka participated in the ToT Program. The Commissioner, Department of Public

--- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

r\.

Instructions, Govt. of Karnataka selected these participants, following one official from each

of the 30 Districts of Karnataka. The Details of participants from DIET are given Annexure-I.

Brief description of Technical sessions of the Training Program (Detailed Session Plan ofthe Training Program is given Annex II).

Day One: Tuesday, 27 Nov, 2017

Dr. G S Srinivasa Reddy, Director, KSNDMC and Dr. Ritu Raj, NIDM, New Delhi

inaugurated the Training program on 27th November, 2017.

Further, Dr. G S Srinivasa Reddy gave a brief introduction of the activities of KSNDMC and

also the importance of the ToT program.

In the first Technical Session, Dr. Ritu Raj, Research Associate, NIDM, GoI introduced the

participants to Basic Concepts of Disaster Management and Institutional Mechanism Dr. Ritu

Raj gave a detailed account of evolution of disaster management in India, shifting away from

reactive and relief based disaster management to proactive and focus on preventive and

mitigating measures. The salient features of various multilateral agreements to which India is

a signatory, for instance, Sendai Framework etc. were also presented to the participants.

In second Technical Sessions, Dr. Ritu Raj explained the methodology involved in Hazard,

Vulnerability, Capacity and Risk (HVCR) Analysis - Tools and Techniques with reference to

School Safety. Participants were given Group Exercise based on HVCR Analysis.

In third Technical Session, Sri. Manjunath, District Fire officer, Karnataka State Fire and

Emergency Services, Govt. of Karnataka explained the methodology involved in Building

Safety Audit, Fire SafetyAudit and Electrical SafetyAudit, with a special emphasis to Schools

and its surroundings.

Day Two: Tuesday, 28 Nov, 2017

Second day Training started with recapitulation of first day technical sessions and the

interactions by Dr. C N Prabhu, Scientist, KSNDMC,

In the first Technical Session on the Second day Dr. Ritu Raj explained the Non-Structural

Risks in Schools and various mitigation and management practices that could be adopted fornullifying them.

In the Second Technical Session. Dr. Ajinder Walia, NIDM, New Delhi along with Dr. Riru

Raj presented the framework for School Safety Plans and Mock Drills.

In the afternoon, Participants were taken for a School Visit to Government High School, T.

Dasarahalli, Om Colony, T. Dasarahalli. Bengaluru, Karnataka 560057. Dr. Ritu Raj and

Dr. Ajinder Walia guided the participants to conduct the school safety audit. An interacting

session with the Head Master and the faculty was also held in the chamber of the Head Master.

Participants also interacted with the students in their respective class rooms.

Dav Three: Tuesdav, 29 Nov, 2017

In the first Technical Session. on third day of training Program Dr. Ajinder Walia presented

the methodology for conducting a Social Audit of Schools. A draft report on the Safety Audit

of the School conducted by the participants was presented and explained to the participants.

During the Second Technical Session. Dr. Jayachandran, Scientist and Project Co­

Ordinator from Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre, (KSRSAC), GoK

introduced the application ofGeo-Informatics and Remote sensing techniques for Disaster Risk

Reduction in Schools.

During the afternoon session. participants were asked to prepare action plans for their

respective districts w.r.t School Safety.

Lectures'! interactive discussions. power point presentation, panel discussions. experience

sharing, guided group exercises, table top etc., were adopted during the Training Program. The

feedback on the ToT program was collected through a prescribed format circulated to the

participants.

During the concluding session, Dr. G S Srininvasa Reddy, Director, KSNDMC & Dr.

Ajinder Walia, NIDM, New Delhi handed over the Certificates to all the participants.

Dr. G S Srininvasa Reddy. Director, KSNDMC thanked the NIDM for the Technical and

Financial support to organise the ToT program and thanked Dr. Ritu Raj and Dr. Ajinder Walia,

NlDM. New Delhi and other Resource Persons for successfully conducting the technical

sessions. sharing their knowledge and interacting with the participants throughout the ToT

Program.

(Participants of the ToT School Safety and Safety Audit - 2017

Annexure - I

S1.No Officials Name

1 N.T.Hemanna, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Bengaluru urban2 N.Umadevi, Lecturer, DIET, Bengaluru Rual.., D.Nagaveni, Lecturer, DIET, Kolara.)

4 Laxman, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Davanag_ere5 M.Nagaraja, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Shivamogga6 S.M.Ramesha, Senior Lecturer, DIET,Twnakuru7 P.V.Patel, Senior Lecturer, DIET,Belagavi8 R.R.Bennur, Physical Education, Lecturer, DIET,Ilakal (Bagalakote)9 Arjun Kamboji, Lecturer, DIET, Dharawada10 Y.N.Ramakrishnaiah, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Kumta (Uttarakannada)11 Karibasappa Metri, Lecturer, DIET, Kamalapura, (Kalaburgi)12 Kattimani Kattappa, Horticulture Lecturer, DIET, Bidar13 Sri.Srinivasareddy, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Ballary14 Mahesh, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Yeramaras (Raichuru)15 C.Srinivasa, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Mysore16 Mahadeva, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Kudige (Kodagu)17 C.H.Kaliraiah, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Mandya18 H.R.Eswar, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Hasana19 Umanaik, Lecturer, DIET, Chikkamagaluru20 Dayavati, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Mangaluru21 M.S.Muralidhara, Lecturer, DIET, Chamaraj anagara22 R.F.Lothageri, Senior Lecturer, DIET,Gadag23 Jnaneswara, Lecturer, DIET,Haveri24 G.A.Rekha, Lecturer, DlET,Koppala25 S.Basavaraju, Lecturer, DIET, Chitradurga26 Geetha Shirali, Lecturer, DIET,Udupi27 A.N.Nag_ara, Lecturer, DIET, Vijayapura28 Baiappareddy, Senior Lecturer, DIET, Chikkaballapura29 Bhagirathi, Lecturer, DlET ,Ramanagara30 Prabhukannan, Senior Lecturer, DIET,Yadagiri31 Pankaja, Lecturer, DIET, Bengaluru North

I 32 Nagaraj ayegowda, Lecturer, DIET, Sirsi33 M.R.Matad, DIET, Chikkodi34 Krishnappa, Lecturer, DIET,Madhugiri

r

~\)"tJvt ') .

~,G1-----\v

(Annexure II

Technical Session Plan of the ToT on School Safety & Safety Audit

Monda~;ir::~ ..•~;~:s;a:'~;:~:1ir'~I~n~sd!~~3Nov,2017

Dr. Ritu Raj, NIDM Dr. Ritu Raj, NIDM /Dr. Ajinder Walia, NIDM

TEA BREAK

9.30-10.00 Registration Recapitulation - 1st Day Recapitulation - 2nd DayInauguration Non Structural Safety Risk

Mitigation &Management Social Audits of Schools10:00 - NIDM

KSNDMC Dr. Ritu Raj, NIDM Dr. Ajinder Walia, NIDM

11:30-11 :45 TEA BREAK TEA BREAK TEA BREAK

B . C t of Disaster School Safety Plans andasic oncep s Mock drill framework

Management & Institutionalfor schoolsMechanism11:45-13:00 Above will continue

LUNCH BREAK13:00-14:00· LUNCH BREAK LUNCH BREAKSchool Visit for Audit:

HVCR Analysis -Tools andTechniques and GroupExercise

Geo-informatics for DisasterGovt. High School, T. Risk Reduction in SchoolsDasarahalli, BangaloreNorth

14:00-15:30

Dr. Ritu Raj, NIDMKSNDMCNIDM

Dr. M. Jayachandran,KSRSAC

15:30-15:45 TEA BREAK TEA BREAKSafety Audits of SchoolBuildings including FireSafety and Electrical Audit

Action Plan Preparation

Feedback& Valediction15:45-17:30 Above will continueSri. Manjunath, Fire officer,Karnataka State Fire andEmergency Services, GoK

NIDM&KSNDMC

'~)' I

"