Bhaktapur, July 31

The Department of Education has directed all 75 district education offices to assess the impact of landslides and floods on schools and submit a report to it.

Floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall in various parts of the country in the past few days has inundated many villages and damaged property worth millions.

Issuing a public notice recently, Shiva Prasad Upreti, deputy director, Educational Counselling and Disaster Management Section, DoE, said the assessment would help the government take actions to mitigate the impact of recent floods and landslides in schools.

DoE has asked the district education offices to call a meeting of District Education Cluster and prepare an action plan to reduce the impact of water induced hazards and seek support from various organisations.

It has also directed the district offices to work in coordination with district disaster management committees and take countermeasures against natural disasters.

Similarly, it has directed the DEOs to prepare a resource map of various UN Agencies and INGOs/NGOs in the districts to prepare better for disaster management.

“We have directed the regional and district offices to immediately write to DoE for support if they have been unable to address the situation with their local resources,” said Upreti.

He also stated that the district offices were told to regularly update the central office on flood and landslide incidents in school areas.

The DoE has prepared a form to be filled by the district with details such as type and date of incident, reported date, number of students affected, number of casualties and whether the roads and bridges leading to school are functional.