Open house: school structures declared risky: who should be held responsible? what is the solution?

Multi-pronged approach needed

As many as 76 schools are structurally unsafe in Ludhiana district only, and think about the figure of the whole state. To improve school infrastructure in Punjab, particularly with old, unsafe buildings, a multi-pronged approach is needed involving assessment, repair, reconstruction and community involvement. This includes developing safety plans, conducting regular audits, upgrading facilities and securing funding. Conduct comprehensive inspections of all school buildings to identify unsafe structures and prioritise repairs. Ensure student and staff safety. Follow established guidelines for declaring buildings unsafe and streamline the process for reporting and addressing these issues. If feasible, strengthen existing structures. If not, prioritize rebuilding with modern, safe, and sustainable designs. Upgrade classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and other learning spaces with modern technology and amenities. Incorporate fire safety measures, emergency exits and other safety features in all new and renovated buildings. Explore various funding sources. Implement regular audits of school facilities to ensure that they are well-maintained and safe.

Sukhdev Sharma

Govt plays an important role

Schools play an important role in a student’s life, but the safety of the building is even more important. Unsafe schools are being closed as life is more important than education. The state government plays a key role in this process by providing proper funds for school repair work, especially for government schools, where maintenance is carried out from time to time. Cleanliness plays a very important role in maintaining a healthy learning environment. Therefore, well-structured and clean schools are always considered good and safe for students.

Komalpreet Kaur

Education Dept be made responsible

The responsibility of the Education Department should be fixed and action should be taken for not taking timely steps for carrying out repairs whenever necessary. Besides, the repair work should be carried out in summer holidays as students shifting can result in dropouts because mostly lower or middle class children study in government schools.

Sat Pall Sharma

Don’t compromise students’ safety

The government must prioritise immediate closure of unsafe school buildings. The safety of students should never be compromised under any circumstances. Such a situation could have been avoided if better material and proper construction practices had been used from the beginning. The state government must strike a balance between ensuring safety and continuing education. One cannot compromise with students’ studies. Temporary arrangements in nearby safe schools, community halls should be made for students when such a situation arises.

Ramneek kaur

Avoid stopgap arrangements

The government should prioritise immediate closure and relocation of students to ensure their safety. With 76 schools declared structurally unsafe, continuing operations with stop-gap measures risks accidents and fatalities. Immediate closure allows for thorough safety audits and comprehensive repairs. Temporary alternative accommodations can be arranged to minimise disruption in students’ education. The government should act swiftly to protect students and invest in long-term solutions to prevent similar situations in the future. Student well-being is paramount, and decisive action is necessary to address this critical issue.

Jaspreet Kaur

PWD, Edcation Dept failed in taking action

Seventysix crumbling school buildings in the district pose a threat to the lives of students and teachers. Despite repeated warnings, the PWD and Education Department officials failed to attend to the issues like crumbling walls, leaking roofs and collapsing ceilings, besides waterlogged classrooms and exposed electrical wires. The administration should order the closure of schools operating in much unsafe and deteriorating buildings in the district and relocate the students and teachers to some other buildings taken on rent or start online classes to ensure everyone’s safety. Renovation and reconstruction works should be completed at the earliest. An expert committee should be formed to assess the safety of the buildings and recommend necessary action. The government should allocate special funds.

RS SEMBHI

Delay will risk students’ lives

The government should prioritise the immediate evacuation of students to safer surrounding schools or temporary learning venues such as community halls or portable classrooms. Safety must take precedence over convenience, any delay will risk the lives of young people. Meanwhile, to assure quality and accountability, the repair and reconstruction work can be carried out in stages. Involving local panchayats, NGOs and the commercial sector in such activities might help to alleviate the financial and logistical burden.

Tamanpreet Kaur Khangura

Avoid disruption in education

Structurally unsafe schools are a serious concern that demands urgent action to protect students, teachers and other staff. The government must balance immediate safety risks without disruption of education. Ensures student and staff safety by shifting them from such schools. Use nearby schools (shifts if needed), community halls, or pre-fabricated temporary classrooms. Provide free transport and mid-day meals to relocated students. Deploy rapid-response engineering teams to assess and prioritise repairs.

Mohammad Saleem Farooqui

Build strong, safe schools

Educational buildings must be strong and safe. Unsafe portions of running schools must be repaired after consulting experienced structural consultants and architects. Strengthening or alteration of school buildings must continue without disturbing the studies of students. New buildings if constructed and maintained properly can last as long as hundred years and must be earthquake resistant as Punjab falls in zone four.

Sanjay Goel

Closing schools no solution

Closing government schools is not a suitable solution as it will severely affect students’ education and future. If schools are shut down, many children may never return to studies, which will increase unemployment and inequality. However, safety of students is equally important and cannot be ignored. Therefore, the government should consider shifting students from structurally unsafe schools to nearby government buildings or merging them temporarily with other government schools. A two-shift system can be introduced so that learning continues without disruption. These alternatives would ensure that students’ education is not compromised while also providing them with a safe environment.

Ishpreet kaur

Strictly supervise construction work

In interest of students’ safety, government should temporary close these schools. However, education is very important, but life is irreplaceable. Students should be relocated to nearby safe schools. Innocent lives should not be put at any risk, and construction work should be started properly under strict supervision. This also shows that schools should be checked regularly to avoid such problems.

Harneet kaur

Don’t risk lives of students’

Education is most important for students but their lives should not be put into any risk. Students in these schools should be temporary relocated to other nearby schools and construction work must be started. It should be regularly monitored to avoid any future uncertainty.

Jasmeet kaur

Govt should take serious action

The state government should take serious action to close and relocate these schools immediately. Highly risky buildings must be shut down without delay and renovation work should begin at the earliest. The government should adopt modern technologies and updated policies for constructing safe and sustainable school buildings. Strict action must be taken to address this issue and prevent future negligence. School staff members should also be made aware of these risks so they can report problems promptly. Additionally, new schools should be opened in rural areas to improve accessibility and reduce overcrowding.

Navneet Singh

Shift to online classes

Continuing daily activities in such buildings is extremely dangerous and the consequences could be severe. Several accidents have taken place in the past, resulting in injuries and loss of life. Therefore, without wasting time and instead of taking unnecessary risks, the government should immediately shift teachers, students and staff to safer buildings with proper infrastructure. Another alternative could be a temporary shift to online learning. Meanwhile, the government should work on repairing and renovating the structurally weak institutions.

Japleen Kaur

Partial fixing no solution

When a school is declared structurally unsafe, its continued use becomes a minefield. Partial fixes like restricting access to certain zones or staggering classes do not eliminate the core danger. Structural failure doesn’t give warnings. One roof collapse, one cracked beam or one monsoon is all it takes to turn negligence into tragedy. To navigate this crisis responsibly, governments should immediately close all structurally unsafe schools. Create relocation plans before disaster strikes. Pre-arrange alternate venues, transport and scheduling adjustments. Use emergency education funds to ensure continuity.

Prabhjot Singh Khalsaji

Closing schools will shatter dreams

A school isn’t just bricks and walls — it’s a child’s second home, a place where dreams take shape. For thousands of underprivileged students, these 76 government schools are their only chance for a better future. Declaring them unsafe is serious, but shutting them down completely would shatter students’ hopes. The government must act wisely — begin urgent repairs, but keep learning going with safety measures in place. Temporary classrooms, local community help and mobile units can bridge the gap. We can’t let poor infrastructure steal students’ education. Fixing a building is easy — rebuilding a lost childhood is not. These schools are more than structures, they are lifelines for students. So protecting them should be the most important thing, and the future they hold.

Puneetpal Kaur

Student safety top priority

In the case of 76 government schools being declared structurally unsafe, student safety must be the top priority. The government should immediately close these buildings and relocate students to nearby safe schools or temporary structures. Continuing classes in unsafe buildings is a serious risk to children’s lives. Education is important, but not at the cost of safety. Stop-gap arrangements like tents, community halls or online learning can be used while proper repairs are being carried out. The government must also act quickly to repair and rebuild these schools, ensuring strong and lasting infrastructure. Parents, teachers and students deserve assurance that schools are safe places. A short break or temporary inconvenience is far better than facing a tragedy that could have been prevented. Prioritising safety today means protecting our future generation.

Puneet kaur

Prevent tragedies, ensure safety

The government should prioritise the immediate closure of the 76 structurally unsafe schools and relocate students to safer locations. While stop-gap measures like temporary classrooms or shared facilities might seem appealing, they don’t offer the long-term safety and security that students deserve. School closures, even if temporary, are necessary to prevent potential tragedies and ensure student safety, while the government simultaneously develops and implements comprehensive repair or reconstruction plans. The situation is further complicated by delays in addressing the issue, with some cases pending with the Public Work Department. Sources within the Education Department revealed that despite the urgency of the matter, delays persist not only due to procedural bottlenecks but also due to the reluctance of school heads and faculty members, at times.

ANMOL SINGH

Start repair work immediately

It is true that it is difficult to close 76 school immediately, but the safety of the children comes first. The state government should immediately close unsafe school buildings and send the children to others safe places to study because this way the children’s education will continue. Both education and safety are important for children. Parents are afraid to even send their children to a school where the building is unsafe. The state government should start this work immediately because it could take a long time. There should be no hindrance in children’s education. School building pose a significant risk of collapse or accidents, especially in inclement weather conditions. The state government should urgently repair buildings and make schools safe through emergency funds.

Prabhjot kaur

Temporarily close unsafe schools

The recent announcement that 76 government schools are structurally unsafe is truly disturbing. Inadequate infrastructure and lack of safety are among some of the reasons for low enrolment in such schools. Urgent repairs in these premises are the need of the hour, and until these are completed, the government must temporarily close these schools. The lives of children must never be put at risk under the guise of academic continuity. To ensure that education doesn’t come to a standstill, the authorities must identify relocation spaces such as community halls or public buildings, where secondary classes can be conducted temporarily. In areas where relocation isn’t feasible, online education could be adopted as an interim solution. However, the government must provide technical resources to both students and teachers so that this temporary shift is truly effective. In the long term, adequate funding must be allocated by the government for building and maintaining safe school infrastructure. In addition, strict safety audits and structural surveys should be conducted by experts at regular intervals. School faculty should also conduct basic checks regularly and report discrepancies without delay. Children are the future of our country, and their safety and quality education are of utmost importance. It is high time that the authorities become aware and stop ignoring the basic safety of the children these institutions are meant to serve.

Tanveen Kaur

Relocate students on priority

The closure of these schools should be done and immediate relocation of the students on priority basis. As there is a high chances for any injury or loss of life, risking children’s life can’t be compromised. The building of such a school can collapse anytime during bad weather conditions, especially in the monsoon and it becomes highly risky. The state government’s unforseen attitude regarding the poor infrastructure of schools is not at all tolerable. An immediate action should be taken, speedy repairs of buildings has to be carried out. The classes can be shifted to online mode or any other surplus government buildings so that there is no halt in their studies and the same keeps on going smoothly. If the state government can’t fund repairs of all the schools, it should close the schools in worse conditions. The state government can do fund raising in case of lack of funds to take swift action in the transition of the schools in order to save the lives of thousands of children.

Anshpreet Kaur

Protecting lives govt responsibility

The news of 76 schools being declared structurally unsafe is deeply concerning and demands urgent action. Teachers and students are the foundation of our future, and protecting them should be the government’s top priority. Continuing daily activities in such buildings is extremely dangerous, and the consequences could be severe. We have already witnessed similar accidents in the past, resulting in injuries and loss of life. Therefore, without wasting time and instead of taking unnecessary risks, the state government should immediately shift teachers, students and staff to safer buildings with proper infrastructure, such as community halls or nearby schools. Another alternative could be a temporary shift to online learning, which has already been validated during the Covid pandemic. Meanwhile, the government should work on repairing and renovating the structurally weak institutions and also spread awareness among parents regarding the situation.

Japleen kaur

Carry out safety audit in schools

Prioritising the safety of children is paramount. Schools must be shut at the first sign of structural risk, and students must be relocated to safe, temporary spaces without delay. Using nearby community halls ensures learning continues while repairs are made because protecting our children is non-negotiable. The state government must carry out safety audits in all government schools, covering structures, electrical systems, fire safety and emergency preparedness. All such diagnostic plan must be planned and created beforehand. They should visit schools regularly to ensure repairs are timely and complete. Budgets must be allocated swiftly for repairs or temporary classrooms, and school visits by officials concerned should keep happening to monitor progress and ensure student safety.

Manmeen Kaur

Repair such schools in phases

Many school buildings in Ludhiana have been found structurally unsafe. This is an alarming situation and must be attended to on priority. If any building falls, the school children will be subject to life risk. Priority must be given to save those precious lives first. If not saved now, then the parents will lose their children and it will bring a very bad name to this smart city. There must be some buildings that might need small repairs and are capable of being used. These buildings should be attended to first and get them repaired for further use. For the rest of the buildings, rightful planning must be done by the state government right now so that they can be reconstructed in a phased manner. The newly constructed buildings must meet the standard specifications for a modern school. As an immediate alternative, these old schools must be closed now and the children therein shifted to other nearby safe schools. Small children must not be assigned to far-off schools to enable them to continue their studies.

Gautam Dev

Issue At Hand

When school buildings are declared unsafe, the rainy season poses a serious threat, as water seepage, weakened foundations, falling plaster and slippery floors can quickly turn a structural risk into an emergency. The authorities concerned must arrange for immediate evacuation and temporary relocation of students and staff, barricade unsafe structures to prevent access and use tarpaulin, plastic sheets or temporary roofing to minimise water ingress until repairs begin. Above all, it must be ensured that teachers and students are accommodated in safe and secure locations.

QUESTION for next week

With snakebite cases rising to 60 this monsoon — driven by wild growth on vacant plots and poor urban hygiene, who should bear the responsibility: Civic authorities, landowners or Health Dept? And what immediate steps must be taken to protect vulnerable communities?

Suggestions in not more than 150 words can be sent to ludhianadesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (August 14)