Schools buildings across TN to be Inspected by officials from May 1

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu government has set up seven-member committees at taluka level across the state to inspect schools and ensure that the buildings conform to the regulations and safety norms.

The committees will start inspecting the schools from May 1 and the entire exercise will be completed by May 15, sources told Express.

The move by state government comes after Madras High Court directed the State to constitute a panel, headed by the Chief Educational Officer (CEO) and comprising other experts, in all districts to inspect the schools to ensure they conform to building regulations and safety norms.

The court has also asked directorate of school education that while constituting the committee it shall take note of the provisions of National Building Code.

The court has passed an interim order on March 19, 2018 after hearing a petition from A Narayanan of Change India.

The committee will consist of chief education officer, tahsildar, public works department representative, a town planning member, fire and safety department official, state electricity board and member from heath department.

However, there are no details about how many teams have been constituted as each district will have thousands of schools. Interestingly, each committee have been asked to visit 25 schools.

The petition sought a directive from the High Court to ensure that government  aided and unaided schools strictly comply with Part-IV relating to fire and life safety and the code of practice of fire safety in educational institutions of the Bureau of Indian Standards enumerated in National Building Code 2005, as directed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on April 13, 2009, issued a set of directives to all States and to ensure safety of school kids. The set of four guidelines include state and Union Territories have to ensure that the buildings are safe and secured from every angle and they are constructed according to the safety norms incorporated in the National Building Code of India before granting recognition or affiliation. All existing government and private schools shall install fire extinguishing equipments within a period of six months.  The school buildings be kept free from inflammable and toxic material. If storage is inevitable, they should be stored safely and  evaluation of structural aspect of the school may be carried out periodically. 

The fire safety and other norms prescribed by National Building Code clearly states that the maximum number of floors in school buildings shall be restricted to three including the ground floor.

Factfile:

1. TN to evaluate all schools buildings to conform whether they abide by the regulations and safety norms.

2. A seven-member committees at taluka level will start inspecting the schools from May 1 and the entire exercise will be completed by May 15.

3. The move by state government comes after HC directed TN to constitute a panel, headed by the Chief Educational Officer (CEO) and comprising other experts, in all districts to inspect the schools.

4. The Supreme Court on April 13, 2009, issued a set of directives to all States and to ensure safety of school kids.