Students at risk in dilapidated school buildings

Delay in the reconstruction and repair of dilapidated school buildings in Rawalpindi district has put the lives of thousands of students at risk.

Some 311 projects were reportedly approved by the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) for the reconstruction of damaged rooms of schools on the directive of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at a cost of Rs 630 million.

About Rs 310 million has already been released to the CDGR, which has started work on 198 projects while the process for the rest 103 has yet to be initiated, according to CDGR sources.

Work on the reconstruction of some school buildings had reportedly not yet been initiated despite release of funds.

The building department Rawalpindi, meanwhile, has put the blame on the education department for the delay in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged school buildings. According to the district office buildings, the education department took a lot of time in identifying the dilapidated buildings.

The schemes for their reconstruction were approved in October 2015 and soon after that the building department initiated the tendering process. Tenders for the reconstruction of around a dozen schools could not be completed and the process has again been started.

He said the reconstruction of school buildings were expected to be completed till June this year as per schedule ahead of monsoon rains.