Gurgaon: Govt schools across the state will undergo a structural safety audit. Amid concerns over the safety of school buildings, Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has directed the education authorities to identify buildings and portions of campuses that are “dilapidated, unsafe or hazardous”. HHRC has sought a compiled report before the next hearing, scheduled for Dec 8.“Qualified civil engineers or competent technical agencies” will conduct the audit, which will have to flag unsafe buildings and detail the action required for schools needing immediate intervention, the commission has said.The scope of the proceedings “should be enlarged”, HHRC said — in its order dated Oct 1 — asking the director general of secondary education, the director of elementary education and Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) to “ensure regular inspections” of govt primary, middle, high and senior secondary schools through district and block-level education officials.The move comes in the wake of the death of a boy in Sonipat. The brick-concrete arch of the main entrance gate of a govt primary school at Garhi Balinda collapsed, leading to the death of Yash, a Class VI student from a neighbouring school, who was walking past it. The education department had maintained that the incident was unforeseeable and that there was no deliberate or avoidable administrative inaction.The statewide direction follows the commission’s follow-up in the Sonipat school incident. A report submitted by the education department in Sonipat said inspections had been carried out in 141 schools in Ganaur block in April and May, following which 54 repair estimates were prepared. In the case of Garhi Balinda school, an inspection was conducted on May 19 and a technical assessment followed on May 22, with an initial repair estimate of Rs 5.6 lakh prepared on June 1.
