PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has ordered every district to set up committees that will check the safety of private school buildings, following the roof collapse at the Al-Khair Education System School in Peshawar’s Dir Colony. The Peshawar school roof collapse has pushed the provincial administration to act on building safety statewide.
What the Notification Says
The Elementary and Secondary Education Department issued a notification directing the committees to survey private school buildings and inspect them in person.
Their task is to spot structural flaws, safety hazards and other weaknesses that could put the lives of students, teachers and other staff at risk, the notification said.
Three Days to Submit a Report
Each committee must hand the department a detailed report within three days of being formed. The report must also include recommendations for the corrective steps needed.
Who Sits on the Committees
At the district level, each committee will be led by the District Monitoring Officer of the Education Monitoring Authority (EMA). Its members will include the Sub-Divisional Education Officers or Assistant District Education Officers (Planning and Development) from the relevant District Education Officer’s office. A representative of the Communication and Works (C&W) Department and other concerned members will also serve on it.
Every Private School Building Is Covered
The committees will survey and physically inspect all private school buildings in their districts. This covers both buildings owned by the schools and those taken on rent.
Following the Peshawar school roof collapse, the panels have also been asked to grade each building by its safety condition. They will prepare recommendations placing buildings in one of four groups: safe, in need of repair, in need of improvement, or potentially unsafe.
Immediate Alerts for Dangerous Buildings
Any building judged potentially hazardous must be reported to the relevant district authorities right away, according to the notification.