Rahnuma: Pakistan: Structural collapses bring physical condition of educational premises into public scrutiny Islamabad, Oct 29 (IANS) The death of five men after a wall of the government school building collapsed in Orangi town of Pakistan’s Karachi this September has exposed a failure of public infrastructure, a report has detailed.
A few weeks later, another school building collapsed in Peshawar, bringing back public attention to the problem. The incident in Karachi involved the wall of a government school in a dilapidated state, while the Peshawar incident took place at a private educational institution. Both incidents spark questions about building safety, regulatory oversight and the protection of children in educational institutions in Pakistan. Furthermore, they expose the consequences of allowing deteriorating health infrastructure to continue until a preventable disaster draws people’s attention to the problem, a report in Kathmandu-based ‘Nepal Aaja’ mentioned.
As many as five people were killed after a boundary wall of a government school in Orangi town of Karachi collapsed on September 11. The school was shut when the incident took place, Nepal Aaja mentioned citing a report by Pakistani daily Dawn. Several people had gathered near the school to consume narcotics, and some were allegedly trying to extract steel from the wall when it collapsed, according to police accounts. Residents had previously said that the boundary wall of the school building was in a dilapidated state.
On October 15, at least 31 children and two female teachers were killed and over 50 others injured after the roof of a private school collapsed in Pakistan’s Peshawar, Dawn reported, citing information from the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH). According to the authorities, the school building collapsed due to a weak building structure and construction that had put additional weight on an already fragile roof.
“The Karachi and Peshawar incidents differ in their immediate circumstances, but both have brought the physical condition of educational premises into public scrutiny. In one case, a deteriorating wall collapsed outside school hours; in the other, a roof gave way while children were attending classes. Together, they illustrate how neglected structural hazards can have devastating consequences,” the ‘Nepal Aaja’ report stated. Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elementary and secondary education department’s initial estimates revealed that 4,049 government schools in the Pakistani province are in ‘dilapidated’ condition and require immediate reconstruction and rehabilitation to ensure the safety of students and teachers, local media reported. A total of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 16.2 billion will be needed to reconstruct and repair these schools, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elementary and secondary education department’s initial estimates.
The department said that the structures which need reconstruction and rehabilitation include 8,088 classrooms, 2,949 group toilets and 48 examination halls, Dawn reported. The department conducted a survey in government schools after a private school building collapsed in Dir Colony of Peshawar earlier this month. The government has also directed the Elementary and Secondary Education Authority (ESEA) to conduct inspections in private school buildings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. –IANS akl/as
