Rain-hit schools need repair

Record downpour a year after flood triggers safety concerns

LAHORE:

Thousands of school buildings damaged by recent heavy rains and last year’s floods across Punjab are unlikely to be repaired before their reopening after summer vacations next month.

"According to an estimate, the number of damaged school buildings in the province has risen to around 3,000 after the heavy rains. We have received complaints of damage to roofs and boundary walls,” a senior official of the Punjab School Education Department told The Express Tribune.

He said there were a number of schools where rainwater had pooled inside the classrooms and playgrounds, which had not been cleared.

The official said many of the schools had old and historic buildings but they had not been repaired for year.

The situation this year was serious because record rains were being received in areas were the damaged buildings were located, he added.

He said the situation was grave but the government was silent as then repair required funds, while the school administrators were unable to start work in this regard on their own.

Sources in the department said that around 400 school buildings were damaged to an extent that their use could be risky.

Most of the buildings requiring repair are in South Punjab, where about 2,000 schools had been damaged by floods last year.

According to a school official, thousands of students and their teachers might be at risk if the government did not release funds for the repair work.

He said more monsoon rains were expected by the next month, which might aggravate the situation.

However, the repair work has not been started by the government and the school administrations lack the funds required for the purpose.

On the other hand, schoolteachers from across the province organised a sit-in in front of the civil secretariat in Lahore for an increase in wages, gratuity and other demands. The protest ended last week upon an assurance from the federal government to fulfill the demands, but many teaches are not performing their duties in the schools and also avoiding participation in the anti-dengue activities.

Government and private schools in Punjab ae closed for the summer vacations and are scheduled to reopen on August 20. The time available for repairing the buildings without disturbing the academic activities is passing.

“Information collected by our members shows that at least 3,000 school buildings are damaged, including dozens that may pose a risk to the safety of the students and staff,” said a leader of the Punjab Teachers Union, Rana Liaqat Ali.

He said around 200 school buildings had been destroyed by the floods last year, while 2,000 had been damaged. The buildings were yet to be repaired, but the number of schools requiring repair had increased during the past year, especially the ongoing monsoon rains.

“The government released only two installments of funds last year, while we were not given one installment. Now we are on the roads for increase in salaries and pensions,” he added.

The union’s president Allah Rakha Gujjar said the condition of school buildings in Lahore had also worsened as the city had received record rainfall this year.

Buildings of several private schools were also damaged, he added.

He stressed that steps should be taken to repair the school buildings before the resumption of classes.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2023.