The National Parents-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has called for strict measures against the culprits of school building collapse.
The president of NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma, made the call in an interview in Abuja on Sunday on the heels of the school building collapse that occurred in Jos Metropolis on Friday
Mr Danjuma expressed shock over the incident that led to the death of children writing their examinations.
“It is very sad that the building got such a number of students sitting examinations; it’s a big loss.
“I begin to wonder how some of these proprietors are running their schools. Some of them use substandard materials to build their classrooms.
“The government, ministry of education and relevant government agencies must take very serious action on this,” he said.
Mr Danjuma also expressed concerns about how the proprietors of the schools get approval for the construction of the buildings without due diligence.
“In fact, before approval is given to any school proprietor, the authorities concerned ought to have put measures in place for standard,” he said.
Mr Danjuma underscored the need for government agencies to get involved in constructing any learning facilities, be it public or private schools.
Speaking on ways to strengthen laws to prevent incidents of building collapse, particularly public buildings like schools, he said the laws had already been established.
He charged regulatory authorities such as the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to live up to their mandate and use the established laws to regulate school owners.
“The laws are already there for every school that is constructing classes. We have the department in every section of education.
“For example, for any project or classroom constructed by UBEC, they have their professionals in the department who monitor the construction to make sure that things are done properly.
“So also at the state level, we have SUBEB that looks after all these kinds of projects.
“For private schools, the Ministry of Education must regulate them and ensure proper things are done,” he said.
He called on all agencies in charge of giving approval for the establishment of schools to rise to the task.
(NAN)
