Kerala floods one month after: Unesco to assess damage caused at educational institutions

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unesco will start an assessment of the damage caused by floods at educational institutions from Sunday, said Unesco New Delhi programme officer Huma Masood.

Speaking to ‘Express’, Huma said she will meet the secretaries of various government departments as part of gathering information about the post-flood situation.

“We are now at the planning phase. Discussions are on with various people. We are taking feedback from key people. We will visit various institutions in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta and other affected places from Sunday. After the visit, we will recommend to the government on what needs to be done. A report will be submitted at the end of this month,” said Huma.

On Friday, Huma and Raghat, a delegate from Unesco Institute for Lifelong Learning, Germany, called on Kerala State Literacy Mission director P S Sreekala as part of assessing the situation. “We need to build a better state. So, it is our responsibility to understand the situation. We will primarily assess the damage of social elements integrated with the education system. We need to bridge the gap between the older and newer generations so as to get tips from the older ones. This will help to recover from the disaster,” added Huma.

In the meeting with Sreekala, the Unesco team praised the functioning of the literacy mission. However, they were concerned about the widespread damage in the state. In Wayanad, 13 tribal hamlets where literacy classes were being held have been damaged severely. Hence, the team will mobilise funds to compensate for the losses.