Safety comes first: Bihar schools set to have 'Safe Saturday' for students

In a novel initiative, the Bihar government is set to launch a school safety programme from January 2018, where the students will be trained in disaster management at their schools every Saturday. The programme has thus been named “Safe Saturday”, and is a part of Chief Minister’s “School Suraksha Karyakram”.

The decision was taken at the 11th review meeting of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and senior government and BSDMA officials in attendance. 

Disaster management is already studied as a subject by high school students in the state. A BSDMA official said the Safe Saturday programme will include modules on types of disasters, how to identify them, what steps can be taken to mitigate their effects and post-disaster management.

The school teachers will be trained by master trainers of BSDMA and booklets and other related reference materials will be provided to them, so that they can educate the students about disaster risks and management. “Not just natural calamities, but risks of heatwave and cold wave, drowning, traffic hazards or fire safety etc will also be told to them,” the official said. The schools will also conduct mock drills, he added.

Bihar is a “disaster-prone” state which faces multiple hazards of flood, drought, and lightning every year besides being in seismic zone IV and V, making it earthquake-prone too. These hazards have been claiming several lives across the state, due to lack of timely mitigation or management and delayed relief and rescue operations.