Rains damage many school buildings

Classes set to resume without repair

LAHORE:

The ongoing record monsoon rains in Punjab have damaged a large number of government schools buildings, posing a risk to the safety of students.

According to sources in the Punjab Schools Education Department, there are around 1,800 buildings in remote districts that require maintenance but the repair work has not been completed due to lack of funds.

However, the government is set to reopen the schools after summer holidays without releasing funds for repairing the damaged buildings.

The heavy monsoon rains across Punjab damaged old buildings of government schools in several districts.

Local source said rainwater had dripped through the roofs of several schools and it might be dangerous to continue academic activities at such buildings.

The sources said around 1,800 school buildings had been declared dangerous in the past but could not be repaired because of lack of interest and funds.

Most of the affected buildings are situated in South Punjab and other remote districts of the province. However, the district education authorities' chief executive officers are yet to launch the repair work.

"These old buildings were identified during surveys in the past. Schools buildings included in this list were also affected by the floods last year and earthquakes earlier," a senior official of the Punjab School Education Department said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

The official said the record rains this year had worsened condition of such old buildings, increasing the risk to those using them.

"The meteorological department has again forecast more rains for the coming days.

The Punjab government should pay attention to the serious issue and start the repair work before the schools reopen in such old buildings," he added.

The provincial government has announced that the schools will reopen on August 15 and notified the timetable.

There are also thousands of damaged private school buildings but no authority has taken action in this regard despite accidents causing deaths and injuries to students in previous years.

Commenting on the matter, a schoolteacher, Waseem Ahmed, said, "We have been continuing to conduct classes in hazardous buildings for many years as hundreds of the school buildings are almost on the brink of collapse. Currently, rainwater has pooled in many school grounds in various districts, causing an additional risk of the dengue fever."

He said a large number of schools had been constructed many years ago and had not been repaired for long because of unavailability of funds.

"Everyone knows record rains have been recorded this year and the water entered at Lahore's hospitals whose revamping had been completed a few months ago, causing an emergency situation. Think about the condition of the old school buildings that have not been repaired in the recent past. Thousands of students study in such buildings," he added, calling for the release of funds for the repair before the schools reopen.

Punjab Teachers Union Secretary General Rana Liaqat Ali said, "According to our information there are around 2,000 old and damaged school buildings in Punjab that immediately require maintenance. Our schools buildings had suffered damage in a major earthquake and also due to floods. The repair work has not been completed."

He said the students, teachers and parents are worried about the condition of the buildings after the recent rains.

He said the education ministry should order a survey of such buildings and order all districts officers to submit details regarding the damaged buildings.