Unsafe school buildings face sealing, demolition

District teams to identify dilapidated structures across Rawalpindi The district administration has launched a survey of private school buildings across Rawalpindi district following the deaths of children in a school building collapse in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Buildings found to be dilapidated and structurally unsafe will be sealed and barred from use until reconstruction, while authorities will initiate action to demolish such premises, official sources said. The district administration has constituted survey teams comprising personnel from the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Municipal Corporation, education department, Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC), Revenue Department and District Council. The teams have been directed to identify unsafe buildings through photographs and video footage and prepare detailed reports, including the names of building owners and the dates of construction. According to sources, the exercise aims to identify private schools operating in hazardous buildings and ensure that they are relocated before the premises are sealed. The administration will subsequently initiate the process of demolishing buildings deemed unsafe. Survey teams from the respective departments will submit their findings to the district administration, enabling it to take action against buildings posing a threat to the lives of students and staff. On the other hand, authorities have imposed a ban on educational activities within hazardous buildings and dilapidated classrooms across all public and private schools in the province, including those in the six districts of the Rawalpindi Division. The Director of Public Instruction (Education), Punjab, Qaiser Rasheed has issued a stern warning to all school heads, private school associations and education officials: should any untoward incident occur at a school, the head of the respective institution will be held responsible. Orders have been issued to immediately seal all classrooms that leak during rain. He added that the safety of children is the top priority, and no violations will be tolerated. The circular strictly directs the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of all District Education Authorities to ensure the immediate and complete implementation of the following mandates across all public and private schools in Punjab.