Rescue activities should be included in the syllabus

In the old days, it was generally understood that rescue was carried only in the place where a fire broke out. Today, when floods are a regular occurrence every year, rescue work has become a part of evacuation process. Wherever there is an emergency, the first to reach the spot will be ordinary locals in the vicinity. Most likely after that reaches specially trained disaster management members and so on. Rescue work by untrained natives will have its own limitations. At the same time, it is not practical to give full training to the natives. But if our education syllabus includes training methods related to rescue, at least the next generation will have the knowledge of rescue works.

The district level conference of Fire and Rescue Awareness organized by Kerala Kaumudi put forward a much needed suggestion that training in rescue operations should be included in the school syllabus. The conference was inaugurated by Education Minister V.S. Shivankutty. He said that the proposal was very important and that steps would be taken to include it in the syllabus. He also said that it was imperative for the student community to know how to deal with natural disasters. Therefore, it is to be hoped that the Minister of Home Affairs will take the necessary steps in this regard. However, the Director General of Fire Services, Dr. A.S. B. Conducted by Sandhya. She added that she hopes to include this in the syllabus from next academic year.

There are some precautionary measures to be taken in case of fire and monsoon accidents. Those who are trained in advance can do this very quickly. Such actions, taken first, reduce the magnitude of the disaster. This requires clear awareness and study. In anticipation of this, Fire and Rescue Awareness Conferences are being conducted in each district under the auspices of Kerala Kaumudi. We will also submit proposals from the conferences to the Government. The practice of including such lessons in the educational syllabus exists in many countries. It is part of the syllabus in countries like Japan, where earthquakes and tsunamis occur frequently. We need to change the way we learn from disasters as climate change persists. We need to start learning the lessons before we can live safely in these times of uncertain climatic conditions.