Time to anticipate natural disasters, Education World

Paik, Saswati (2014) Time to anticipate natural disasters, Education World. Education World.

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Abstract

ALTHOUGH THE IMPACT OF THE RECENT rain and flood fury which has devastated the northern state of Jammu & Kashmir, is still being assessed, this disaster is certain to take a heavy toll on the education sector ” particularly K-12 education. Indeed it™s arguable that the heaviest price of this essentially man-made disaster will be paid ” in terms of lost learning and career prospects ” by the state™s most vulnerable citizens: children. This has always been so. In the mid-1980s my school, located in rural West Bengal, was forced to shut down for two months following floods in September-October as many displaced families took shelter in it. When school re-opened in November, it was still partly a rescue and rehabilitation camp. In December, when annual examinations were held by the state board, many students didn't write them, with a large contingent dropping out permanently from school. Later, I met some of them serving in local tea shops, working in family occupations, or supplying fish to local markets.

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Paik, Saswati

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