Bihar Schools to Hold ‘Safe Saturdays’ for Disaster Training

Students in Bihar will now learn how to stay safe during disasters every Saturday

Patna: School children in Bihar will soon be trained to protect themselves during disasters like floods, fires, and earthquakes. The state government is starting a special safety training programme called “Surakshit Shanivar” or Safe Saturday in all government secondary and higher secondary schools.

From June 30, one teacher from each school will be trained under the “Mukhya Mantri Vidyalaya Suraksha Karyakram”. These teachers will then teach students of classes VIII and IX every Saturday about how to stay safe, save others, and escape during emergency situations. The training for teachers will take place in Patna at Chandragupt Institute of Management in batches of 150 teachers until September 26.

Officials said that these trained students will also teach other children and people in their villages about disaster safety. The aim is to reduce loss of life and property by making everyone aware of what to do during an emergency.

This programme first started in 2018-19 but was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it will restart with more focus on older students so they can help their communities during difficult times.