Baseline Assessment of SEEDS Safe Schools in Uttarakhand
The Honeywell-SEEDS Safe Schools Program comprises a comprehensive school safety approach that focuses on disaster management planning, assessment of hazards, training, and capacity building of teachers, students, and school administration. Additionally, it also carries out mitigation measures for school safety. The three-year program focuses on Uttrakhand’s two districts — Dehradun and Haridwar.
A baseline assessment was planned to capture the state of school safety in these areas. The baseline assessment was done in a phased manner. Phase 1 had two components: risk analysis and pilot assessment of risk perception carried out in 10 schools. The risk assessment study involved desktop research that helped understand the study’s prevalent hazards, risks, vulnerabilities, and critical project stakeholders. This assessment was majorly qualitative in its approach. It used focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and perception surveys of all identified respondents to understand the area’s perceived risk and resources.
Findings from phase 1 were used to refine the tools and sampling approach for phase 2, which included assessment of the remaining 90 schools. Further, quantitative and qualitative tools were finalized and discussed with the client. The field team was trained to ensure quality data collection. The data was collected through quantitative interviews with 1200 children, 1200 parents, and 200 Teachers. 150 IDIs were also conducted for the study. After data collection, the data was analyzed, and a report was submitted.