Five-day training on disaster risk reduction concludes

MINGORA: Experts said on Saturday that every type of risk and hazard can be mitigated and minimised in schools if education managers, teachers and students are well aware and fully prepared in advance.

They were speaking on the concluding day of the five-day training on disaster risk reduction (DRR) for education managers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. District education officers, assistant district education officers and principals, headmasters and senior teachers from the six districts of Malakand division participated in the training.

The training was organised by School Safety Cell of the Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in collaboration with Sahad Rural Support Programme and UNICEF. Trainers of Rescue 1122 and Red Crescent also conducted training sessions in the event.

The organisers of the training said that the basic aim of the event was to sensitise and raise awareness among the education managers of KP regarding the disaster risk reduction in schools.

“At least 750 education managers from 25 districts of KP and also the tribal districts would be trained. So far, we have trained 280 education managers and the rest will be trained in the five planned phases,” said Madiha Danish, master trainer from the Provincial Institute of Teacher Education (PITE).

“If we identify the hazards and make ourselves prepared by building our capacity, we can mitigate the disaster and minimise the losses,” she said, adding that for capacity development, first of all an education manager would be trained and the training would be extended to teachers and students.

The participants said that the training was useful for them, which not only sensitise them about how to mitigate disasters but also would help them plan the schools’ construction according to standard formats of DRR.

“We learnt so many new tips and techniques to tackle and mitigate any type of disaster. We will soon implement such steps and measures in our schools too,” said Muhammad Shafiq, ADO sports in Swat education office.

District education officer, Buner, Bakth Zada said on the occasion that they were fully sensitised and their concept made clear about hazards and disasters in schools as well as in their offices.

“Before the training, we even did not know technically about risk, hazard and disaster but now we became completely aware of it and are well prepared for disasters. We are sensitised enough to properly plan the site of schools in view of any future disaster or hazard,” he said.