After the horrific Rajkot fire tragedy that killed 28, the Gujarat High Court had ordered for checking of fire NOC (No objection certificate) across all the schools in the state.
More than 110 schools in Ahmedabad which did not require a fire NOC but lacked essential fire safety resources, were issued a notice by the government on June 16. Despite being a Sunday, inspections were conducted in over 1,900 schools in Ahmedabad.
Stringent checking was carried out for fire safety in schools, as previously ordered by the Education Department after the Rajkot fire incident.
Inspections were conducted in various districts by the District Primary Education Officers (DPO) and District Education Officers and all schools were asked to submit proof of fire safety compliance.
Earlier, in some schools in Ahmedabad, Fire NOCs were not renewed, prompting orders for their renewal.
The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB), Commissionerate of Schools, and Directorate of Primary Education directed the DEOs and DPOs to furnish a report by this evening.
More than 110 schools, including 57 under the Ahmedabad city DEO and 55 under rural DEOs, lacked essential fire safety provisions. However, they did not require a fire NOC as schools in buildings less than 9 metres high are not required to obtain a fire NOC.
However, they need to maintain necessary resources like fire fighting pipes and extinguishers.