Gujarat: 10 months after Harni tragedy, schools allowed to resume picnics

The guidelines necessitate schools to question support of authorities acrophobic 15 days successful beforehand and instrumentality parents of participating students into assurance astatine the signifier of readying portion besides ensuring a stringent cheque connected the question vehicles, drivers and each different information procedures.

Stating that the tract trips indispensable beryllium those that “are successful the involvement of education”, the GR advises against indulging successful boating activities successful h2o bodies and besides escapade camps that tin beryllium “risky”. It states, “Boating should beryllium avoided arsenic acold arsenic imaginable during picnics. If a boating is planned, past the vessel should not beryllium allowed to transportation much than the recommended (number of) passengers. One teacher and attendant indispensable beryllium contiguous with each radical and beingness jackets and different information instrumentality should beryllium used. Similarly, unsafe places specified arsenic escapade camps, rides should beryllium avoided and those trips beryllium planned that are successful the involvement of education.”

In lawsuit of overnight stays, picnic groups indispensable scope the chosen destination latest by 10pm. The GR besides makes it mandatory for schools to signifier committees nether the chairmanship of the schoolhouse principal, comprising a practice from parents, to sermon the locations, advantages, safety, routes and different indispensable issues related to the picnics.

For picnics undertaken astatine locations wrong the state, the schools indispensable question support from the District Education Officer oregon the District Primary Education Officer portion for excursions extracurricular the state, support from the Commissioner of Schools would beryllium needed. For planetary locations, support from the acquisition section and secretariat has been made mandatory.

All permissions are to beryllium sought 15 days ahead, submitting time to time programme of the picnic, the GR stated. The schools person been directed to name a “responsible and experienced” idiosyncratic arsenic the convener, who volition guarantee that the picnics are conducted arsenic per plan. The GR said, “A gathering should beryllium held with parents of the participating students…If a genitor has not attended the meeting, a written consent indispensable beryllium sought which should beryllium verified done a telephone call. The picnics are not to beryllium made mandatory.”

Schools person been asked to name astatine slightest 1 teacher per 15 students and exclude students with unwellness oregon weakness oregon “allergies”. “In lawsuit of associated picnics for antheral and pistillate students, pistillate attendants indispensable beryllium included during the travel. Students should besides beryllium fixed wide instructions with dos and don’ts and a little program of safety,” the GR stated.

Emphasis has besides been laid connected the demeanour of drivers. “If a operator appears to beryllium intoxicated, the question should beryllium suspended…speed bounds should beryllium followed. Vehicle information should beryllium inspected and documents pertaining to ownership, registration and licence of the conveyance beryllium procured successful advance… Consumption of intoxicant oregon different intoxicants during picnics by students, teachers oregon drivers is strictly prohibited,” the GR added.

The GR besides stated that schools indispensable program question aft considering upwind forecasts to relationship for immoderate unpleasant calamities specified arsenic cyclones, dense rainfall, coldwave and earthquake.

The GR comes adjacent to a period aft astir 16,000 schools successful the authorities signed a petition, urging that the authorities contented guidelines successful bid to let schools to program tract trips astatine the extremity of the Diwali
vacations.

The main of a Vadodara-based school, who was besides a signatory to the petition, told The Indian Express, “While we person been profoundly anguished by the Harni tragedy, it has besides made each of america alert that letting down our defender tin origin an irreparable loss… However, we indispensable determination guardant and let the students to person vulnerability to places that are harmless and volition enrich their knowledge. Picnics and tract trips are not lone amusive but besides bring an acquisition that books cannot give. We are gladsome that the authorities authorities has issued the elaborate guidelines. We volition spell done them and program our tract trips accordingly.”