LAHORE:
The persistent heavy monsoon rains in Punjab have damaged numerous government school buildings, posing a threat to the safety of students.
According to sources in the Punjab Education Department, there are around 1,800 buildings in the remote districts that need maintenance, but the repair work could not be completed due to lack of funds.
However, the government plans to reopen schools after the summer holidays without providing funds to repair the damaged buildings.
Heavy monsoon rains in Punjab have damaged old government school buildings in several districts.
A local source said rainwater had leaked through the roofs of several schools and it could be dangerous to continue classes in such buildings.
According to the sources, around 1,800 school buildings have been classified as dangerous in the past but could not be repaired due to lack of interest and funds.
Most of the affected buildings are located in South Punjab and other remote districts of the province. However, the heads of the district education offices have not yet initiated repair work.
“These old buildings were identified during previous surveys. The school buildings on this list were also affected by last year’s floods and the earthquakes before that,” a senior official of the Punjab School Education Department told The Express Tribune.
The official said this year’s record rains had worsened the condition of these old buildings, increasing the risk to their users.
“The weather service has again predicted more rain for the coming days.
The Punjab government should address this serious problem and start repair work before reopening schools in such old buildings,” he added.
The provincial government has announced the reopening of schools on August 15 and announced the schedule.
In addition, there is damage to thousands of private school buildings, but no authority has taken action to address this, despite accidents resulting in deaths and injuries to students in recent years.
Commenting on the matter, teacher Waseem Ahmed said, “We have had to conduct our classes in dangerous buildings for many years as hundreds of school buildings are on the verge of collapse. Currently, rainwater has accumulated in many school premises in different districts, which poses an additional risk of dengue fever.”
He said that many schools were built many years ago and had not been repaired for a long time due to lack of funds.
“Everyone knows that there have been record rainfalls this year and that the water has entered Lahore’s hospitals, whose rehabilitation had been completed only a few months ago, creating an emergency situation. Think of the condition of the old school buildings, which have not been repaired in the recent past. Thousands of students study in such buildings,” he added, demanding the release of funds for repairs before schools reopen.
Rana Liaqat Ali, general secretary of Punjab Teachers Union, said, “As per our information, there are around 2,000 old and damaged school buildings in Punjab which need immediate repair. Our school buildings were damaged in a major earthquake and also by floods. The repair work is not yet completed.”
He said students, teachers and parents were concerned about the condition of the buildings following recent rains.
He said the Education Department should conduct an investigation into these buildings and ask all district officials to submit details of the damaged buildings.
