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Thursday, December 19, 2013

ORIENTATION PROGRAMME HELD ON NATIONAL SCHOOL SAFETY PROGRAMME

 Disaster Management will be made part of school syllabus: CM
GANGTOK, 18 Dec: A one-day orientation programme on School Safety under the National School Safety Programme [NSSP] organized by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority [SSDMA], Land Revenue & Disaster Management Department [LR&DMD] in collaboration with Human Resource & Development Department [HRDD] was held at Chintan Bhawan today with Chief Minister Pawan Chamling as chief guest.
In his address to the gathering of various stakeholders, Principals, Headmasters and teachers, the Chief Minister pointed out that Sikkim was prone to natural disasters and it was time to contemplate more seriously on preventive measures, be it through SSDMA or NSSP. The principals, HMs and teachers need to make the children aware and sensitize them on safety measures to be adopted as children spend most of their time in schools and need to be provided protection, he added.
Speaking on some of the demands placed before him, he stated that all the 778 schools within the state will be brought under NSSP, the funds for which will be placed in the next budget session. A Disaster Management Institute is also coming up in the state for which expert advice is being taken and some more work needs to be done regarding the same, he added.
He also informed that Disaster Management along with Moral Science will be part of the school syllabi from the next session.
In his address to the school authorities and teachers, the CM called for the need to instill the value of time and opportunities in students. Stating that children need to learn that time is very precious and need to be given proper guidance, the CM lamented that students in the State are not capitalizing on the numerous opportunities created by the Government, and urged the teachers to mediate in this regard.
The state government has provided the best of the best opportunities in the education sector and it is now time for the students to take advantage of them, he stated.
Later, the Chief Minister handed over tokens of appreciation to six schools awarded by British Council for taking progressive measures in disaster management in their respective campuses. The schools awarded were Sir Tashi Namgyal Senior Secondary School, Government Senior Secondary School Singtam, Burtuk Junior High School, Pelling Senior Secondary School, Dentam Senior Secondary School, and Soreng Senior Secondary School.
The Chief Minister also handed over cheques to eight schools for non-structural mitigation measures. The schools were Namchi Girls’ Senior Secondary School, Namthang Senior Secondary School, Mamring Junior High School, Tinek Chisopani Junior High School, Enchey Senior Secondary School, Luing Secondary School, Ganchung Junior High School, and Lower Samdong Secondary School. Two schools, Yangang Secondary School and Aho Secondary School, were provide emergency tools.
Executive Vice Chairman of SSDMA, Professor VK Sharma, spoke about the vision of SSDMA to make Sikkim a model state in terms of disaster management and resilience. He stated that disaster management measures should first be demonstrated in schools and then percolated into society for larger reach. He further shed light on the capacity building measures adopted by SSDMA and informed that selected teachers would be sent for trainings annually to other States and abroad. Professor Sharma also mentioned about the proposed Himalayan Institute of Disaster Management and Climate Change which will come up in Sikkim. He called for cooperation from all concerned departments to make it a model institute.
In his keynote address, Disaster Response Commissioner-cum-Secretary LR&DMD, KS Tobgay expressed the need to make school safety a priority as students spend bulk of their time in schools.
Deputy Secretary, LR&DM Department, Prabhakar Rai presented a power-point presentation on School Safety under National School Safety Programme.
Vice Chairperson of 'Save the Children' International, Ray Kancharia and Regional Coordinator, Geo Hazards Society, Hari Kumar, present as resource persons, highlighted various aspects of school safety through power point presentations.
The programme also comprised of a speech by a student representative Mayalmit Lepcha, a Class XI student of Deorali Girls' Senior Secondary School.
The programme had the presence of Speaker KT Gyaltsen, Health Minister DN Thakarpa, Minister HRDD NK Pradhan, Heads of Departments, and Principals and teachers from the schools of East and South Districts of Sikkim.

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