Crisis Preparedness and Response for Schools: An Analytical Study of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

This research study aims to analyze the Preparedness and Response to crises in School Education department at secondary level in Punjab, Pakistan. This was done through the experiences and views of District Education Officers (DEOs), Head of Schools and Secondary School Teachers (SST). The purpose of the study was not only to examine preparedness and response to crises but also to help education administration with specific reference to circumstances under which the process of crisis management at school level is going on, within the Pakistani Education system. For collection of data a detailed questionnaire for DEOs, Heads and Teachers was used in nine sampled districts out of 36 (25%) of the Punjab. The study remained with descriptive type of research methodology. To evaluate the crisis Preparation and response of administration, 6 main and 31 sub factors were analyzed through the process of percentage (%), Weighted Mean (WM), and Standard Deviation (SD).  After gone through the process of analysis of data and findings of the study it was revealed that at administration and management (DEOs & Head) level the practices of crisis management remained satisfactory. The school administration carries the practices in normal way. No concept of creating awareness among the students about crisis. No proper system of crisis response team, training and other measures were not found, which are very important for safety and security of the students and staff.

Keywords: Educational Crisis Management, Crisis preparedness & Response