New Delhi: Being prepared for any disaster is the new agenda of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as it has sent out circulars to all its affiliated schools to enroll students for Disaster Management Programme.

In the circular, the Board has provided information on the mock drills and workshops conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and its contact information.

NDMA is an apex body on disaster management in India

“Disaster can strike anytime, anywhere and it takes time for a specialized help (fire brigade or a rescuer team) to reach the spot,” said B.K. Khanna, Senior Specialist – Training and Capacity Development, NDMA.

The aim is to empower children by providing training to them on man-made or natural disaster.

Till date, 23 schools in National Capital Region (NCR) have received formal training in disaster management and its children from class V- XII are attending the workshops.

The mock sessions are conducted in two steps:

In the first step, there is evaluation of vulnerability of the school, formation of a disaster management committee and conception of an evacuation plan.

In the second step, a mock drill session is conducted with the teachers, students and non teaching staff.

“The schools have become more proactive on this front, after the Mumbai attack,” said Rekha Sharma, Principal, Bal Bharati Public School, Rohini.

“Though children may not be able to make use of awareness and training but there is no harm in being better prepared,” she added.

source: indiaedunews.net