Ahmedabad, January 17: The tide’s changing in Gujarat schools. Following the tsunami that left a trail of death and destruction in its wake, the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GHSHEB) has decided to make disaster management part of the school curriculum.

A chapter on disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes and cyclones will be introduced in the Standard VIII social science textbook from June this year and Class X students can get their info from a separate booklet next year. Said GHSHEB chairman H N Hingu, ‘‘Our plan is to include chapters in textbooks of Class VIII, IX and XI but we will introduce it first in Class X in the form of a separate booklet.’’

This, he said, will inform and educate students about disasters and how to tackle these. ‘‘For instance, the quake was the first such experience for most students. If they had basic knowledge, they would have known that running outside or standing under a door was a survival tactic.’’

The Board plans a double-pronged approach, with stress on education of teachers also.

Research Education Officer M M Shah said, ‘‘During the training of teachers under Karmayogi Yojana, about 65,000 teachers were taught how to manage disasters and given booklets prepared by GSDMA.’’ GSDMA Joint CEO V Tiruppagaz said, ‘‘We believe that diasaster management should be part of the curriculum and taught in junior school itself. Students will not come across such situations in daily life so they have to be prepared.’’

Tiruppagaz said the aim was to set up a small cell for disaster management in every school and have regular drills. ‘‘Chapters have already been included in Class III and IV books and we’ve also introduced it in the Primary Teachers’ Course (PTC)

Jagdish Gadhvi, Deputy Director of GSDMA, said, ‘‘A training module prepared for PTC teachers includes introduction to disaster management terms, common disasters that can occur in Gujarat such as cyclones and earthquakes and their mapping, elements of disaster management, response, recovery, understanding of disasters, how we can educate students during disasters, how to discuss and integrate the issue with the students, dos and don’ts during disasters.’’

Madhubhai Patel, Chairman of the State School Textbook Board, said, ‘‘The CBSE book has detailed information regarding disaster management. We will translate it and include some additional material. The reprint of the Class VIII social science textbook will have a full chapter dedicated to tsunami from June.’’