Are Schools Truly Complying with the Supreme Court's Safety Guidelines Today?

Supreme Court Judgment on School Safety

I would like to share an important judgment given by the Supreme Court on 13.4.2009. The Court has held that it is the fundamental right of every child to receive education free from the fear of security and safety. The Court has provided detailed guidelines and ordered that all government and private schools in the country must adhere to the safety measures prescribed by the National Building Code of India 2005. Additionally, the Court directed that all existing schools must provide fire extinguishing equipment within 6 months.

Are all schools following the court order today in the right spirit?

Thanks

Thank you, Mr. Agrawal, for sharing such a useful judgment copy with our members. However, there are still some doubts in our minds.

Concerns About Implementation of Safety Norms

Whether all the schools have implemented the safety and fire norms available in the Court Order. Whether the schools have formed the Fire Safety Committee. Whether the inspections conducted by the Government Officials are really being carried out without any involvement of corruption or compromise in the safety norms required to be adopted in the schools. Whether the Fire Safety Committee can handle any incidents or accidents without much panic. Will the committee members and volunteers have adequate fire safety training and drills? If so, are they receiving regular and periodic training?

The questions in our minds can only be answered by the Almighty, in whose hands our children are going to school.

Thank you, Shri. Agrawal ji, for sharing such a useful judgment copy. On the implementation of any law/case law, my questions are:
i. Are all laws/case laws implemented by the industry?
ii. Are our law enforcement authorities aware of the laws/case laws, changes, or amendments in laws?

Our law enforcement authorities know only "GANDHI BAPU!" It is a tragedy of our nation!

Thanks and regards,
Keshav Korgaonkar

I completely agree with you. I would like to share my personal experience. Approximately one year ago, I visited a reputed school in Delhi and noticed that the school had fire hydrant systems. However, when I inquired with some staff members about the use of fire-fighting systems or fire extinguishers in case of an emergency, they simply replied that they didn't know how to use the equipment. When I asked about the emergency evacuation plan, they informed me that emergency routes were posted everywhere.

I then asked if they had conducted any mock drills, for example, for fire or electrocution. To my surprise, someone mentioned they had never heard of the term "mock drill."

This is a true representation of our Indian schools. One can only imagine the condition of government schools or colleges in India. The government should take strict action if any schools or colleges are found negligent.

This is solely based on my personal experience and viewpoint.

Thanks and Regards.

Dear Manish,

As a matter of fact, we need not bother much because government schools typically have only single floors or, at most, a ground and first floor. They have plenty of open space, so in case of any fire accident or even a building collapse, the number of victims would be minimal.

These requirements mainly apply to private schools that lack a playground and open space. They operate in single multistorey buildings where the terrace serves as the playground for the school, posing a high danger.

Since schools are typically run by influential individuals and their fees are prohibitively high, ordinary people struggle to raise complaints against them.

Thirty years ago, schools used to have two evening periods weekly for Physical Training, two periods for Drawing, and two periods for Moral Studies, which engaged students and provided relaxation. However, nowadays, even these periods cause stress for the children attending school.

Without active engagement from students and teachers, do you believe it is possible to raise awareness about safety and firefighting?

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I agree with your comment, Mr. Bhaskar. Do you think many of our schools or colleges are aware of this judgment? How many parents will ask about such facilities being available in schools or colleges before admission? First of all, how many of our school or college staff and parents are aware of such a judgment?

Yesterday, I had a chat with one of my professors, Mr. Senthil. I asked him about this judgment, and he was not aware of it. I asked my dad, and he was aware of it. The problem lies with our government and educated people. The government has failed to implement such judgments. Educated people fail to raise questions or ask the concerned parties because they don't have time, and they think it's not their job and a total waste of time. I don't know when such things will change in our country.

Regards.

I have already done my part of the job. I have disseminated the copy of this Supreme Court judgment to all my contacts who do not have access to CiteHR. Like this, our members have to act smartly and hand over a copy to the schools of their wards in which they study. What the government has failed to do, let us try to accomplish from our level and educate the nearby schools. It is our duty to disseminate the copy, but it is up to the school whether to follow it or not.

Dear Bhaskar, Wow, nice to hear that. From my side, I already spoke to my school principal regarding this. He probably gave a date last week in August. I'll use the date to explain everything to our school staff, conduct a meeting, and help them to ensure compliance as much as I can. Surely, once we implement this in our school, it will spread to others as well. If others ask me to help them, I will surely assist as much as I can to stay in compliance.

Thank you for sharing the updates with us. If anyone has the following, please share:

1. School Safety Manual
2. Specific Checklist covering all the fire and safety requirements of schools.

Thank you.

Dear Mr. Dipil,

Please check https://www.citehr.com/422052-accide...-accident.html thread. Hope it will guide you to make the School Road Safety Manual.

Regards

I think some of the schools in our country are doing something to comply with the Supreme Court order with all due respect. Please review the attached document and share the good deed, urging others to follow suit.

Thank you.

Regards,