Praslin and La Digue Research Trip for Education Sector Consultancy

Under the “Seychelles National Disaster Preparedness and Response” project the Divisions of Risk and Disaster Management have contracted Dr. Marie-Therese Purvis to develop Seychelles’ “Disaster Contingency Plan for the Education Sector”.

Amongst a series of activities to be undertaken for this consultancy, is a research on our three main islands; Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. This research comprises of a questionnaire formulated to assess the opinions and knowledge of teachers and disaster managers on the potential hazards and school preparedness in the event of a disaster. After the questionnaire, a tour around the school grounds is carried out to inspect strengths and weaknesses pertaining to the disaster cycle;
o Preparedness
o Prevention
o Response
o Recovery

On the 27th and 28th of January, I had the privilege of accompanying Dr. Purvis on her trip to both Praslin and La Digue respectively.

During those two days, the following schools were visited:
1. Anse Kerlan Primary School
2. Grand Anse Primary School and Crèche
3. Vijay International School
4. Baie St. Anne Primary School
5. Grand Anse Secondary School
6. La Digue School (Primary and Secondary)
In every school visited on both Praslin and La Digue, one thing was particularly evident; everyone we spoke to seemed enthusiastic and willing to do what it takes to ameliorate disaster risk reduction in their schools.

The following is a list of prominent flaws/ weaknesses identified in most schools visited:
- Lack of awareness/ knowledge amongst educators and staff regarding disaster risk reduction
- Lack of funds to purchase necessary safety equipment and/ or maintenance of equipment
- Adequate preparedness but for only one type of disaster (usually Fire)
Although all schools have their strengths and weaknesses, it is worthy to commend the schools that have made strong and proper attempts recognizing the importance of disaster preparedness. Exemplary practices being implemented are:
- Assigned disaster manager
- Strategically placed smoke detectors and smoke alarms situated at key areas (e.g. Kitchen and laboratories) in the school
- Evacuation plans
- Fire blankets
- Maintained Fire hose reels and fire extinguishers
- Fire exit signs
- Designated fire assembly points
- Fire practice drills biannually
Up until now, Seychelles does not have a standard in terms of disaster preparedness in schools and because of this; schools have had to rely on accumulated experiences in order to set their own safety standards.

The first of two workshops will be held on the 11th of March 2011, where the results of this research and quantitative data collected will be discussed and analysed by stakeholders. The objective of this workshop is to present, discuss and finalise an education sector disaster preparedness assessment as the first stage in the development of the sector contingency plan (Contributed by Ms D. Sabino, Project Officer).