Islamabad: Gender and Children Cell of National Disaster Management Authority organized a consultative meeting on Pakistan School Safety Framework (PSSF). The objectives of the meeting were to raise awareness among stakeholders on their subsequent roles and responsibilities in scaling up PSSF across the country, promoting a safe learning environment, promoting preparedness for potential hazards in schools, establishing response mechanisms, raising awareness among stakeholders on disaster risk reduction practices and ensuring children’s participation on building resilience. The PSSF was developed and approved following a series of national-level consultative meetings with government and humanitarian actors in 2018.
While chairing the advisory meeting, NDMA Chairman Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik emphasized that effective disaster response requires the development of a wide network of trained individuals in homes, schools, places of worship and even in the remotest villages to serve as first responders and provide critical assistance. during various extraordinary events. Global experience also shows that empowering children through disaster risk education in the early stages of learning equips them to play a vital role in saving lives and protecting their communities, so school safety must be a top priority. To cultivate a truly informed community, NDMA intends to develop simulation exercises specially tailored for students and teachers, the Chairman further said.
Participants appreciated the NDMA’s initiative to provide a platform for discussion and further implementation of school safety frameworks for prepared and well-informed pupils.
