CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has set up seven-member committees at taluk-level across the state to inspect schools and ensure that the buildings conform to the regulations and safety norms.
The committees will start inspecting schools from May 1 and the entire exercise will be completed by May 15, sources told Express.The move by the state government comes after the Madras High Court has directed the State to constitute a panel, headed by the Chief Educational Officer (CEO) and comprising other experts, in all districts to inspect the schools to ensure they conform to building regulations and safety norms.
The court has also asked the Directorate of School Education that while constituting the committee it shall take note of the provisions of the National Building Code. The court passed an interim order on March 19, 2018 after hearing a petition from A Narayanan of Change India.The committee will consist of the Chief Education Officer, tahsildar, a Public Works Department representative, a town planning member, a Fire and Safety department official, a State Electricity Board member and an official from the Heath department.
However, there are no details about how many teams have been constituted as each district has thousands of schools. Interestingly, each committee has been asked to visit 25 schools.The petition sought a directive from the High Court to ensure that government-aided and unaided schools strictly comply with Part-IV relating to fire and life safety and the code of practice of fire safety in educational institutions of the Bureau of Indian Standards enumerated in National Building Code 2005, as directed by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on April 13, 2009, issued a set of directives to all states and to ensure safety of school kids. The guidelines made it mandatory for states and Union Territories to ensure that the buildings are safe and secured from every angle and they are constructed according to the safety norms incorporated in the National Building Code of India before granting recognition or affiliation.
Safety first
TN to evaluate all school buildings to conform whether they abide by regulations and safety norms
Seven-member committees at taluk-level will start inspecting the schools from May 1 and the entire exercise will be completed by May 15
The Committee will consist of the Chief Education Officer, tahsildar, a PWD representative, a town planning member, a Fire and Safety department official, a State Electricity Board member and a Heath department official
The Supreme Court on April 13, 2009, issued a set of directives to all states and to ensure safety of school kids