A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF PREPAREDNESS OF SCHOOLS IN DISASTERS

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which disaster preparedness was achieved by learners, educators and other stakeholders of the school. The education sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors during emergencies. It is among those that often suffer the impacts of disasters brought about by natural and human-induced hazards. From their experience, they recognize that disasters deprive children of their right to a continuous quality basic education in a safe environment. They threaten the lives of children, their families, and education personnel. In addition, all schools are expected to set up a school management committee that comprises community members, support staff of school, teachers and students. Additionally, the committee should then oversee the establishment of school based risk reduction team (various response teams such as an early warning and early response team, a search and rescue response team and a first aid response team can be formed under school based risks reduction team—the list can be longer as per the context of a school and host community), which also comprises teachers, school staff and students. The findings of the study indicated that the learners, educators and other staff tended to be the ones who were aware of disaster preparedness such as disaster management plan, emergency response training and coordinating with Local Emergency Respone Agency. The contribution of this study to the body of knowledge is to provide a baseline data on what the status of disaster preparedness in schools.