Delhi Govt Mandates Compliance With Safety Norms For All Private Schools.

The Education Department of the Delhi Government recently issued an order on June 21, emphasizing the importance of safety standards and certification renewal for all private schools. The official notification from the government requested that private schools ensure the validity of certificates for fire NOC (No Objection Certificate), water test, school health, school building safety, and structural safety. To comply with these regulations, the Directorate of Education (Private School Branch), Government of Delhi, issued instructions to all managers and Heads of Schools (HoS) of private, unaided, recognized schools in Delhi. They were directed to keep their various certificates, including Fire NoC, Water Test Report, School Health Certificate, and School Building Safety Certificate/Structural Safety Certificate, up to date and send the renewed or updated certificates to the Zonal Authorities of the Department of Education (DoE). Furthermore, the directive stated that the certificates should be handed over to the appropriate officials of the Education Department's zonal offices. The government justified these measures by referring to court rulings, which indicated that educational institutions could only be affiliated with the department if they followed the specified safety regulations.
In a separate incident, a significant fire broke out on June 15 in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi. Disturbingly, students were observed using makeshift ropes to rappel down from the building's third floor in an attempt to escape and rescue themselves. The building housed coaching institutes and reportedly had around 200-250 pupils present at the time of the mishap, as stated in an official statement. Approximately 61 students were taken to various hospitals, and the Delhi Police have initiated an investigation into the fire incident. Following this unfortunate event, it was announced that the building would undergo a fire safety assessment. This action is necessary as Delhi has numerous buildings that fail to adhere to fire safety guidelines. Fire safety measures aim to prevent uncontrolled fires from occurring and minimize their spread and impact.