APP
In the wake of the unfortunate roof collapse incident at a private school in Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Department has directed the relevant authorities to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of school buildings and protect students and staff.
In the first phase, a survey will be conducted of schools identified as being at higher risk on the basis of information received through various media reports and other sources.
According to a notification, issued by Elementary and Secondary Education Department, the Directorate of Education, all District Education Officers (Male and Female), and relevant field officers have been directed to promptly verify complaints, videos, photographs and reports concerning unsafe school buildings received through digital and conventional media, departmental channels, and other credible sources including the social media accounts of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Adviser on Education and Adviser on Information and Public Relations. The department directed that teaching activities must be suspended immediately in any educational building declared dangerous and unsafe, and students must be relocated to nearby schools or other safe locations. Classes in affected buildings may resume only after the necessary repairs have been completed and the relevant technical authority has certified the buildings as safe.
According to the notification, necessary repairs to school buildings will be undertaken on a priority basis through coordinated efforts by the Planning Wing of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, relevant technical institutions and the Communication and Works Department. Where major structural defects are identified, the concerned authorities will be approached for technical assessments and the implementation of necessary corrective measures.
The authorities have also been directed to maintain proper records of all complaints, inspections, risk assessments and actions taken. The notification emphasizes that any immediate threat must be addressed without delay and reported to the relevant authorities.