Dangerous buildings: 12 school buildings declared unfit

Monitoring officer suggests the buildings be demolished immediately.

GUJRANWALA: Education Department on Thursday declared buildings of 12 schools in the district dangerous and unfit for further use.

Beginning last week, district monitoring officer (Education) examined these buildings and sent a report to the Education Department on Wednesday. The report said that it was too dangerous for children to study in these buildings anymore. The walls of these buildings, it said, had cracks, the ceilings leaked and most of the windows were broken.

The monitoring officer said buildings of Government Primary School, Jhuggian; Government Primary School Kotli Bal Gobind; Government Primary School Kotla Tapa; Government Primary School Chandarke; Government Primary School Kot Saadullah; Government Primary School Musapura; Government Primary School Kot Peeru Shah; Government Elementary Khwaja Modern School; Government Girls Primary School Naveenwala; Government Girls Primary School Christian Town, Wazirabad; Government Primary School Qazi Wazirabad; and Government MMS, Chanawan were in a dilapidated condition and could collapse anytime.

He suggested that the department issue notices to the administrations of these schools to vacate the buildings.

He said most of the classrooms in these schools had wooden ceilings and some of them had been attacked by termite. He said ceilings of two classrooms in Khwaja Modern School threatened to hurt more than 80 students studying in the two rooms.

He said most classrooms in this school were below ground level so that rain water accumulated there. Negligence could cause a disaster, he said.

District Officer (Elementary) told The Express Tribune that none of the buildings was likely to collapse. He said these buildings required renovation and a letter had been sent to the higher authorities concerned for this purpose.

Furniture for schools

Also on Thursday, the Education Department sought lists of missing furniture from schools.

Executive District Officer Shaukat Ali Tahir said every month the Education Department would provide furniture worth Rs2.5 million to shortlisted schools. These will include desks and chairs for the children. He said schools with most students will get the furniture first.

He said the Department had so far set up IT laboratories in 38 middle schools.

These schools, he said, were also provided with furniture. In addition, he said, several schools were given a Rs300,000 grant each to buy furniture and missing facilities.

More than 50 schools in the city lack furniture. According to a recent survey by the Education Department, six elementary and 46 primary schools lack furniture.

With additional reporting by Rizwan Hameed

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2012.