Nearly 27% of government schools assessed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been declared structurally unsafe, raising serious concerns about the safety of thousands of students and teachers across the province.
A structural safety audit conducted by the provincial Works and Communications (C&W) Department identified 2,448 government schools with unsafe buildings, of which 2,344 require repairs.
The audit was carried out on government instructions following the Dir Colony school incident, which prompted authorities to examine the structural condition of educational institutions across the province.
According to the department’s findings, approximately 27% of the schools covered by the assessment were found to have safety deficiencies, highlighting the scale of infrastructure problems within the province’s public education system.
The findings have underscored the need for urgent repairs, structural improvements and measures to protect students and school staff from potentially dangerous buildings.
Separately, the Peshawar district administration has issued notices to 13 private schools after inspection teams found their buildings to be dilapidated and unsafe.
The notices directed the administrations of the affected schools to immediately vacate the buildings and relocate their institutions to safer premises.
District authorities warned that the deteriorating condition of the buildings posed a serious risk to students’ lives.
They further cautioned that school administrations would be held responsible for any incident resulting from their failure to comply with the evacuation orders.
The audit findings and notices have brought renewed attention to school infrastructure safety in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly the need for timely inspections, repairs and enforcement of building safety requirements.
Authorities have not yet announced a detailed timetable for repairing the affected government schools.