Page 27 - The Insurance Times July 2020

Introduction of topics of “Road Safety” and “Insurance Introduce the earth's crust and volcanic eruptions
Education” are two most talked about subjects in the last
few years. They are still on the drawing board of the Topic of cleanliness, pandemics and other health risks is
planners. There can not be a more appropriate and another area of high relevance.
opportune time to move these projects from the drawing
board to academic arena and to classrooms, but in any case The purpose is to make them aware of these forces and
not before, thoroughly processing them on the drawing extreme events as natural part of life on the earth and one
board. Following are some views / random thoughts on how must realise to live with them wisely (i.e manage them well,
we may proceed in this reagrd. instead of being at the mercy of these perils).

Safety and Insurance education deal with certain important Social Perils
life skills. Introducing safety and insurance to the students Suggested Topics: Introduce different types of wealth /
in early ages, is the only way of internalising these skills. resources, their value for the individual, family and society.
Therefore the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Then sensitise them as to how these perils destroy the
even some Chief Ministers have openly advocated inclusion resources and deprive people and society of the standard
of road safety in the school curriculum. However instead of of living they desire and deserve.
restricting it to only road safety, the scope has to be
Theft
broadened to include other aspects of safety as well as
elementary aspects of insurance. A three stage frame-work Burglary
outlined below can be a good starting point. Malice

This can be improved further based on, suggestions received Stories to convey the message of alertness and importance
from various interested persons, and the lessons learnt from of precautions to save oneself from these perils and also the
past experience. Essentially the content has to be ultra-light message that such pervert activities ultimately harm the
and elementary. It should necessarily be based on past live offender too have to be at the core of the teaching.
events (of-course adapted to academic purpose) and not on
Riots and
fiction / imagination. Pedagogy has to be anecdotal and
follow the story telling method. Attention catching pictorial Strikes,
presentations will enhance the efffect. Good gaming tools
and thoughtfully chosen videos should definitely deliver the Particularly implications of destruction of public property,
desired results. and futility of making viloence as a means of protests has to
be emphasised
Stage 1 - Introduction to Risks :
Accidental Perils
Pure Risks: Natural perils
Suggested Topics: How vehicles are made, followed by story
Suggested Topics: Introduce different types of the physical of road accident (may be involving a bicycle).
living environment like urban, rural, industrial and hillstation
etc, contribution of phenomenon of rainfall to the life, and How clothes are made, followed by topic of accident in the
then move to the natural phenomena of climate, of textile / garment factory showcasing fire risk and
monsoons, followed by storms, tempests, tornadoes, cloud consequences.
bursts, floods, tsunamis and their consequences. While
extolling the extraordinary efforts of relief personnel, an How the chocolates or similar things are made and
awareness can be created about the adversities and miseries accidents in the such factories
these natural calamities bring. Foodgrains of Food
Corporation of India rotting because of heavy rains and lack How food processing industry works and possible poisoning
of proper storage capacities can be another good relevant event due to casualapproach by the persons who matter.
example.
Primarily, the purpose is to convey the message about
Introduce topics like tectonic plates and their movements, importance of discipline in day -today life.
continental drifts and shifts, faultlines and then earth-quakes
and consequences Many of the above topics might already be forming part of

The Insurance Times, July 2020 27