Disaster management included in secondary school curricula

Modules of disaster management to be taught in secondary schools have been prepared by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs (MIDMAR) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.A statement from MIDMAR says the modules on disaster management were introduced this year and incorporated in the existing teaching curricula in the General Paper subject.Teaching disaster management in secondary schools aims at enhancing a disaster prevention culture in Rwanda so as to enhance sustainable development, according to the statement.General Paper teachers in secondary schools, countrywide, have since, last year, been trained in order to equip them with basic knowledge that will enable them provide inclusive lessons and undertake more research in the field. About 40 teachers from the Northern and Western provinces, this week, underwent the disaster management training conducted in Musanze District.Eastern and Southern province teachers have undergone similar training.Teachers from Kigali City, and Nyamasheke and Rusizi districts in the Western Province will be trained in the coming phase.Participants appreciated the training, stressing that General Paper is a complex and multidimensional course which requires specific trainings for each topic.“This training is so important because we were teaching disaster management with scanty knowledge on it. Now, I understand the difference between a disaster and an accident,” said Eulade Kayitankore, a teacher from Nyabihu District in the Western Province.Rwanda is exposed to a wide range of natural and human induced disasters like landslides, floods, heavy rain with storms that destroy infrastructure, property and claims lives of people.“Public awareness on disasters has to be raised in all groups of the Rwandan community. We believe that students in secondary schools can effectively contribute to disaster prevention and risk reduction by sensitising the rest of the population so that at least man-made disasters can be fully prevented,” Fernande Nyiransabimana, an official in charge of public awareness in the ministry, said.“Disaster management is a key component in country’s development. Teaching disaster management in secondary schools is, therefore, a strategy to influence the future leaders to involve disaster management in all development planning,” she added.Plans to train at least 6 teachers from each district in the first phase which is scheduled to end by this year, are underway.

National

Disaster management included in secondary school curricula