Fire safety and building stability criteria must for recognition of Schools

Bengaluru: In a measure aimed at ensuring the safety of children, the State Government has made it mandatory for all unaided schools to meet safety standards and building stability specifications.

In a directive issued to schools, the Department of Public Instruction has asked private unaided schools to mandatorily follow safety standards and building stability requirements. Such schools which fail to comply with the regulations, cannot get their recognition renewed.

The directive comes following a 2009 Supreme Court order, citing a fire mishap in a school, according to which schools were asked to take necessary measures on fire safety and building stability.

The Department of Public Instruction order has raised eyebrows among private school managements, as old Government schools have been kept out of the order. They also fear that the new directive may prove to be a death knell for decades-old private institutions.

Following the directive, the school managements will now have to knock on the doors of Fire and Emergency Services Department for getting a safety certificate as well as the Public Works Department (PWD)  for getting building stability certification.

The Government’s directive had caused an uproar in the Belagavi State Legislature session, following which Minister for Primary and Higher Secondary Education B.C. Nagesh had assured the House that the norms will be relaxed. Even Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai too had assured to relax the norms for a year.

Defending the Department’s decision on relaxation for Government schools, B.C. Nagesh had argued that most Government school buildings were only of ground floor and hence there is very little chance of fire mishaps breaking out.

The Department has also laid out a fresh set of rules for new schools, according to which  8 mts of land around the boundary of the school should be left for roads. The schools must have an overhead water tank (10,000 litres capacity) and must have both entry and exit gates. The schools should have enough space for manoeuvrability of fire engines in the school premises in case of a fire mishap and all class rooms should have fire extinguishers. Besides, schools should have a building fitness certificate issued by the PWD.

However, the new rules has a lot of reservations as 90 percent of old schools, which have been functioning for decades,  cannot comply with this fresh set of norms due to want of space and other reasons.