Lok Sabha Question No. 2347 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-13
Subject: Fire Safety Measures in Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Supriya Sadanand Sule, Sunil Dattatray Tatkare, Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Kuldeep Rai Sharma, DNV Senthilkumar. S.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2347 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2021

## Fire Safety Measures in Schools

2347. DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE: SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: SHRI SUNIL DATTATRAY TATKARE: DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE: SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR. S.:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  formulated  guidelines  for  schools  which  envisages  fire prevention and fire safety measures and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether most of the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas do not have adequate fire safety measures in their premises;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  issued  any  guidelines  to  State  Governments  to  take immediate steps to provide adequate fire safety measures in all schools/colleges/universities in the country;
- (e) if so, the details thereof alongwith the response of the State Governments;
- (f) whether the Government has taken steps to ensure all schools and colleges have fire safety certificates within a stipulated time to ensure safety of children in future and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g)  the  other  steps  taken  by  the  Government to  prevent  fire accidents  and ensure safety of students?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a), (d), (e) & (f): Education  is  a  subject  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and majority  of  the  schools  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  respective  States/UTs.  Department  of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education has developed Guidelines on School  Safety  and  Security  of  children  studying  in  Government,  Government-aided  and

Private  Schools.  The  guidelines  are  advisory  in  nature  and  have  been  circulated  to  all States/UTs/Autonomous Bodies of DoSEL and stakeholder Ministries on 01.10.2021.

These  guidelines  are  to  be  read  with  National  Disaster  Management  Authority's (NDMA) National Disaster Management Guidelines on School Safety Policy, 2016 which are statutory  in  nature  and  are  required  to  be  complied  without  any  deviation.  The  NDMA guidelines  provide  for  conducting  quarterly  safety  audits  by  the  School  Management Committee on ten designated activities, of which, conducting annual mock drills, installation of fire-extinguishers, training of students and  teachers in school safety and  disaster preparedness,  adherence  to  safety  norms  with  respect  to  storage  of  inflammable  and  toxic material and grant of recognition certificate only to those schools that comply with structural safety norms specifically pertain to fire safety.

The University Grants Commission has also framed guidelines on safety of students, on and off the campuses of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). Under these guidelines, the HEIs should install a fire safety system under which mechanisms for the detection of a fire, the warning resulting from a fire and standard operating procedures for control of the fire are  evolved.  Students  and  staff  should  be  trained  in  the  effective  operation  of  fire  fighting devices. Mock drills for fire situation should also be undertaken at least once in a semester.

(b) & (c): Schools under Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangthan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) comply with National Disaster Management Guidelines on School Safety Policy, 2016 and have adequate fire safety measures in their premises.

(g) : A Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) including representatives of NDMA and DoSEL, Ministry  of  Education  monitors  the  implementation  of  the  National  Disaster  Management Guidelines on School Safety Policy, 2016 in States/UTs and schools under KVS, NVS and Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA) on quarterly basis.

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