Rawalpindi moves to seal unsafe school buildings after K-P collapse deaths
The Rawalpindi district administration has launched a survey of unsafe school buildings across Rawalpindi district following the deaths of children in a school building collapse in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Buildings found 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.
Multi-department survey teams
The district administration has constituted survey teams comprising personnel from the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), the Municipal Corporation, the education department, the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC), the Revenue Department and the 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 they are relocated before the premises are sealed. The administration will subsequently start the process of demolishing buildings deemed unsafe.
Survey teams from the respective departments will submit their findings to the district administration, enabling action against buildings posing a threat to the lives of students and staff.
Province-wide ban on hazardous classrooms
Separately, authorities have imposed a ban on educational activities within hazardous buildings and dilapidated classrooms across all public and private schools in Punjab, including the six districts of the Rawalpindi Division.
The Director of Public Instruction (Education) Punjab, Qaiser Rasheed, 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. The safety of children is the top priority, and no violations will be tolerated, he added.
The circular strictly directs the chief executive officers of all District Education Authorities to ensure immediate and complete implementation of the mandates across all public and private schools in Punjab.
Why this is happening now
The trigger was the collapse of a school building in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in which children died. That tragedy exposed how vulnerable school structures can be, particularly older private-school buildings that were never designed as schools.
Punjab’s response has two tracks: Rawalpindi’s building-by-building survey with photographic evidence, and the province-wide ban on using hazardous classrooms. Holding school heads personally responsible is meant to ensure the orders are not ignored at the institutional level.
The province has faced school-safety questions before. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa itself launched an identification drive for unsafe school buildings, and a school collapse in Peshawar drew international attention. Rawalpindi’s survey follows the same logic: find the dangerous buildings before the next tragedy.
What parents should know
If a school building is found unsafe, the administration’s plan is to relocate the school before sealing the premises. Parents should watch for notices from their children’s schools and the district administration in the coming days.
Classrooms that leak during rain are to be sealed immediately under the new orders. School heads who fail to comply face personal responsibility for any incident.
Source: The Express Tribune
FAQs
Why is Rawalpindi surveying school buildings?
After children died in a school building collapse in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the district administration ordered a survey of private school buildings to identify dilapidated and structurally unsafe premises.
What happens to unsafe buildings?
They will be sealed and barred from use until reconstruction, and authorities will initiate demolition of structures deemed unsafe. Schools operating in them are to be relocated first.
Who is conducting the survey?
Multi-department teams from WASA, RDA, the Municipal Corporation, the education department, RWMC, the Revenue Department and the District Council, using photographs and video footage.
What did the Punjab education department order?
A province-wide ban on educational activities in hazardous buildings and dilapidated classrooms, immediate sealing of classrooms that leak during rain, and personal responsibility for school heads in case of any incident.
