Education in ruins

One of the most important and discernable issues arising from the Oct. 8 disaster is the startling collapse of the public sector buildings of schools, hospitals, offices, etc. Destruction of schools, colleges and university buildings at their busiest hour was perhaps the single most heart-breaking episode of the overall devastation caused by the killer earthquake. Thousands of students of all ages and their teachers never found the time to leave their classes and make it into the open. The buildings collapsed so suddenly and swiftly that the students and teachers were caught between floors and crumbled roofs. Nobody could come to the help of these hapless people as there was no heavy machinery to lift heavy concrete slabs nor were there enough people to start digging into the buildings. The calls for help and sounds of agony gradually died away leaving only silence and the stench of death interrupted only by wailing mothers and sisters keeping a vigil over the massive concrete graves!

Astonishingly, the same happened at other buildings constructed by government and semi-government departments including offices, official residences and public facilities. It seems that public officials, supervisors, contractors and everybody else involved in construction in the public sector were either a totally indifferent lot, or stupid or thieves and after Oct. 8, they became murderers. What happened to children in their schools was repeated in public buildings and offices which swallowed everybody on duty along with members of the public who had come there for myriad purposes. They all perished except some very lucky ones.

The destruction of most public buildings in an earthquake was not something that would go unnoticed. One has heard that the President, upon seeing the ruins of a building in the quake-hit areas, remarked that it must be a public building. The first thing that everybody following the aftermath of Oct. 8 noticed was the mass destruction of buildings that were educational centres and the instant obliteration of the youth of Azad Kashmir. Simultaneous devastation of official buildings adds to the questions raised about the quality of buildings and those responsible for sanctioning their construction. However, whatever might be the cause; the loss to people of the area will never be recompensed -- emotionally and physically. The emptiness created by the departure of the most vibrant members of families and bread-winners, who perished at their place of work, will continue to haunt survivors for the rest of their lives.

There have been demands for a thorough inquiry into the construction of these buildings. One thought that it was too early to raise the point. However, nearly two weeks after that fateful Saturday, one decided to raise the issue before it is relegated to the back-burners of policy making. An inquiry into the collapse of public buildings especially those of schools and colleges and the administrative departments is a must. We should know the circumstances under which such fragile and poor quality buildings were constructed. A high-profile inquiry, perhaps under a Supreme Court judge with foreign technical experts as members, may be able to give an objective judgment. There are basic policy issues which will have to be resolved if future construction at the local level has to be standardised.

Those who are familiar with the system under which projects are approved, funds secured, location determined, construction contracts awarded, quality of materials checked and maintenance carried out, would know the possibilities of distortions and financial and administrative bungling at every stage of the project. Construction of buildings at places far from the capital is more amenable to nefarious designs of the influential. Since their support is valued at the federal, provincial or state level, they can get away with murder. The location of a project, apart from social and economic considerations, could be decided by the land provided by a local land-owner. If it is to be purchased, there is a scramble among the local elite who would try to sell their inferior land at a good price besides making a name that the local institution was built on one's land.

Suitability of soil for a building already decided, the real contest starts over the allocation of funds by the government. Selection of an architect, approval of his design and construction plan, award of contract for construction, completion certificate for the building, purchase of furniture, laying of garden, etc are well known opportunities for kickbacks and other corrupt practices. In a country where making quick money has become a major occupation, there would be a few people who would not exploit the development programmes and projects spread before them. That should explain the main sources of weaknesses in the public sector buildings. That should also explain the sturdiness of the old public buildings which were sanctioned and constructed when the term "quick buck" was not even known to the public and civil servants.

In the context of public buildings, especially of the educational institutions, there are three issues which need to be resolved. First, the discussion on defective construction has been confined to Azad Jammu and Kashmir while equally large destruction of educational institutions took place at Balakot and Gharhi Habibullah which are in the NWFP province. Even in Rawalpindi, school buildings suffered various degrees of damage. Is not the generally low priority accorded to education also a reason for this? The same mentality might have worked in Azad Kashmir and parts of NWFP. And there is a good possibility that school buildings in other parts of Pakistan may also be equally fragile!

Educational buildings were not the only ones that collapsed. A number of military buildings including the largest hospital in Azad Kashmir also suffered the same fate. Although, the armed forces will definitely hold their own inquiry about their buildings, yet could it be that the material for these came from the same source? This aspect needs to be examined.

An important aspect of weak buildings is their maintenance. Who was responsible for their upkeep, repairs and periodic examination? And how regularly this essential exercise was undertaken in the quake-stricken areas or elsewhere, besides carrying out standard repairs?

To conclude, the loss of life in the educational institutions in areas ravaged by the Oct. 8 earthquake is one of the most traumatic events. As explained, development programmes, especially educational projects are subjected to pressures and neglect. It is no use conducting an inquiry if those found responsible for the Oct. 8 collapse of public buildings are not punished and the entire system of government controlled construction is not revised to make it clean and honest. It will be a tribute to the memory of all those students who lost their lives in classrooms, libraries and laboratories of their schools.