The National Parents Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has called for strict penalties to be imposed on culprits of school building collapses.
NAPTAN pointed out that there is State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) which looks after such projects, emphasizing that for private schools, the ministry of education must regulate them and ensure proper things are done.
The association’s call comes on the heels of the collapse of a school building in Jos, Plateau state, and a residential building in Abuja.
Recall that Niger Delta Connect News reported that on July 12, a two-storey building of the Saint Academy, a primary and secondary school in Jos collapsed killing about 22 people and injuring 132 others.
The incident had occurred while the students were writing their third-term examinations.
In the same vein, on Saturday, a two-storey residential building collapsed in Kubwa area of Abuja, but no casualty was recorded.
President of NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma who expressed shock over the Jos incident in an interview said the government needs to get involved in the construction of learning facilities.
Haruna stressed that due diligence should be ensured before approvals are granted for school construction.
He said: “It is very sad that the building got such a number of students sitting for examination. 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. I also wonder how the relevant agencies gave them the approval.
“In fact, before approval is given to any school proprietor, the authorities concerned ought to have put measures in place for standard.
“The laws are already there for every school that are 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 state level, we have SUBEB that looks after all these kind of projects. For private schools, the ministry of education must regulate them and ensure proper things are done.”
He called on all agencies in charge of authorizing school construction to live up to their directives and enforce existing laws to enforce standards.
