Abstract:
The history of flooding in developing countries demonstrates that educational
institutions have been disproportionately affected by devastating floods. Schools
have an obligation to safeguard students during emergencies and to encourage a
preparedness culture by making them prepared and ready. Additionally, schools are
crucial in building society's overall resilience to hazards and disasters. In this
regard, this study aims to evaluate the flood resilience of public and private high
schools’ structural, non-structural, and functional resilience in the very vulnerable
district of Swat, Pakistan, in recognition of the necessity to enhance resilience for
disasters in the education sector. Data were collected for 45 variables from 60 (30
public and 30 private) high schools that were chosen at random. After identifying
resilience indicators, the composite values of the three resilience dimensions were
obtained using an index-based methodology. Correlations between the dimensions
and indicators were also checked in the current study. The gathered data is analyzed
using descriptive statistics in the study, and a chi-square value and P-value are
examined to determine how the variables of three separate dimensions are
correlated. The study's conclusions demonstrate that private schools are more
resilient than public schools. Moreover, within the public sector schools, several
aspects require enhancement, including the number of storeys, presence of
landlines, internet facility, financial support from external donors, plans to share
with parents, drill report sharing with stakeholders, identification of specific items,
procedures, and protocols for drills, identification of drills months and hazard and
vulnerability analysis. While in the Private sector, attention must be given to areas
like Side Spaces, the presence of landlines, financial support from external donors,
SOPs on Evacuation, Safety, First Aid and Search and Rescue, Drill Report Sharing
with Stakeholders, Event Management/Policy Making Team and Identification of
Specific items, procedures, and protocols for Drills.
