The government gives top priority to provide students with a safe and secure learning environment at schools for which introduction of Pakistan School Safety Framework (PSSF) will prove a significant step towards a secure future for students, schools and the education system in Pakistan at large.
State Minister for Information Marriyam Aurangzeb stated this while addressing a consultative meeting on PSSF organised by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with UNICEF here on Tuesday. She added that the students are the future of Pakistan and implementation on PSSF like projects needs joint efforts so that every student in the country can get benefits from the scheme.
Later talking to media persons, she said that politics and performance cannot be separated and people would cast their votes in 2018 elections on the basis of service delivery. The minister said the PML-N performed superbly over the past four years on all fronts, especially on economic and anti-terrorism fronts. She said the present government improved prestige and honour of the country in the comity of nations which led to launching of historic initiative of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The minister said that Punjab province under the leadership of Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has developed to a great extent and other provinces should emulate this model.
Referring to the Prime Minister's visit to Hyderabad the other day, she said the Prime Minister is working for the welfare of people of entire Pakistan and wants that people of Sindh should also have similar opportunities as are available to people of other provinces. She said that the PM announced a number of projects to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of Sindh and he would continue to do so in Sindh and other provinces as well. She said public sector schools are more secure now than before.
Other speakers on the event said that PSSF is an initiative of national priority and will go a long way in improving the safety standards of educational institutions in Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Angela Kearney said that it is very important not only to think about physical security, but also of psychological safety. "Children should feel safe in schools and they should be well prepared to cope with a disaster. From experience in other countries, we know that children who are taught about the risks of disasters play an important role in saving lives and protecting other members of the community. School safety therefore, must be an absolute priority," she added.
Chairman NDMA Major General Asghar Nawaz said, "Pakistan School Safety Framework presents the opportunity for a safe future for our new generations." He informed the participants that PSSF draft was developed through an extensive process of consulting all the major stakeholders and after pre-testing it through a pilot project. He further said that NDMA was committed to taking forward this framework for sustainable implementation.
Detailed deliberations were carried out in the moot on the future implementation strategies for the PSSF in the whole country. The meeting was attended by provincial ministers for education, secretaries for education and disaster management, director generals PDMA, high-level representation from P&D departments, police, Rescue 1122, private school executives, UN representatives, development partners and other high ranking government officials.
The NDMA in collaboration with UNICEF undertook a well-deliberated initiative of formulating PSSF as envisaged in Disaster Management Act 2010 and National Education Policy 2009. It provides guidance to all stakeholders to ensure safety and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in schools while focusing on child-centred disaster risk management.
The NDMA achieved a consensus on 17-18 August, 2016 on drafting a document on the subject and it was recommended to pilot test the PSSF in 68 selected governments and private schools. The pilot programme was conducted from November 2016 to February 2017 in 68 schools (federal/provincial/private) all across the country.