Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), Department of School Education (DoSE) and NagaEd signed a service level agreement on Friday at the NSDMA conference hall, Nagaland Civil Secretariat, Kohima.
NSDMA Joint Chief Executive Officer, Johnny Ruangmei, in the welcome address, announced that NSDMA, DSE and NagaEd have joined forces to revolutionize school safety in Nagaland, he announced. “With a shared vision of ensuring the well-being of students and staff, we three are embarking on a groundbreaking project to digitise the School Safety Policy, enhancing its accessibility, understanding, and compliance.”
Ruangmei emphasized that school safety is a vital aspect of education, encompassing various challenges such as natural disasters, accidents, child abuse, bullying, violence, and infectious diseases. He informed that recognising the importance of addressing these issues comprehensively, NSDMA has developed a comprehensive School Safety Policy that outlines guidelines and procedures for schools across Nagaland. However, implementing the policy effectively across all schools across the state has its constraints due to resource requirements and remote locations, he added.
He mentioned that challenges such as distributing and updating policy documents, complexity in understanding the requirements, inconsistent enforcement, and monitoring compliance have been persistent obstacles and to overcome these challenges, NSDMA and DoSE have partnered with NagaEd.
The CEO said that NagaEd, renowned for its expertise in digital education and successful implementation of digitisation projects, will spearhead the digitisation process and creating active digital model that makes the policy easily accessible and understandable for schools and teachers.
An overview of school safety policy virtual training was presented by assistant manager (training and education) NSDMA, home department, Khrolou Koza Lohe where she mentioned that in line with NDMA guidelines, NSDMA in Collaboration with Department of School Education has developed a comprehensive school safety policy to proactively ensure safety of all students and staff in schools across the State known as Nagaland Disaster Management School Safety Policy (NDMSSP). This, she said is to ensure all the schools in the State to comply with this policy, to digitise the School Safety Policy to overcome the challenges and make it accessible even to schools located in remote areas.
Lohe informed that the primary goal of the project is to train teachers on the subject of disaster management through online mode, formulate their own individual school safety plan, provide a safer workplace for both faculties and students in response to disaster through disaster preparedness measures. Briefing in the work specification she added, “NagaEd will design and develop the digital compliance module, provide technical support and roll out of digital module, provide training on how to use the platform.”
The NSDMA will look into the finance, the course and act as the facilitator and interlocutor, the DoSE will provide list of teachers for training and enforce such participants for certificate course. Order and Notifications will be issued by education Department specifying the level of teachers who would undertake the online waiting course, Lohe further informed.
NSDMA Secretary, Lhouchalie Viya, commissioner and secretary of school education department and SCERT Kevileno Angami and Principal Director, School Education Thavaseelan K, IAS were also present in the program.
The project targets the digitisation and implementation of the School Safety Policy across the State and certifying 5,000 teachers from Nagaland. This ambitious goal reflects the commitment of NSDMA, DoSE and NagaEd to reach every corner of the State and ensure that no school is left behind.
The official launching of the program will be done on 1 December 2023.
NagaEd is a leading digital education company based in Nagaland, committed to transforming education through technology. It develops innovative digital solutions to enhance teaching and learning experiences. The company specialises in creating interactive and engaging educational content, providing professional development for teachers, and supporting schools in their digital transformation journey.
The Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) is the apex agency responsible for disaster management in the state of Nagaland. Its mission is to ensure the safety and security of all citizens by implementing effective disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery measures. NSDMA works towards building a resilient society by promoting a culture of safety and integrating disaster risk reduction into all sectors.
It had been informed that the collaboration between NSDMA, DoSE and NagaEd marks a significant milestone in advancing safety in Nagaland schools. By leveraging digital technology, NSDMA aim to create a seamless and efficient process for schools to access and understand the policy. Moreover, the platform’s monitoring capabilities will enable NSDMA to ensure compliance and take proactive measures where necessary.
