Hundreds of additional school buildings in the England may be dangerous and at risk of collapse, Britain’s education secretary said today, after authorities asked 104 schools to close all or some of their buildings as old and non-durable cement was found in them. The revelations about the sub collapsing school buildingsjust days before the start of the new school year, have angered parents and teachers and are a new political headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The issue reinforces the impression that vital public infrastructure in Britain is crumbling. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the government was still waiting for a response from around 10% of the 15,000 schools in England to which questionnaires have been sent in order to identify those in trouble.
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Cement (RAAC), a lightweight form of cement that was commonly used in walls, floors and ceilings from the 1960s to the 1980s, has been identified in these buildings. However, it is now considered weak and unsafe. Keegan said schools where RAAC is suspected to have been used will be inspected over the next two weeks.
“Most will not contain RAAC,” he assured BBC radio. “It could be hundreds more.” Most of the schools affected will be able to operate as normal, the British government said.
Increasing the pressure on the British prime minister, the former permanent secretary for education said that when he was finance minister the Sunak reduced the annual budget for school building repairs by half, while the service had asked him to double it, APE-MPE reports. “We have pointed out that there is a serious risk to life if this program is not funded,” Jonathan Slater underlined. “I was surprised when I saw (…) the decision taken by the government.”
The opposition accused Sunak of “putting children’s lives at risk” while pointing out that he ignored repeated warnings about the collapsing schools.
Source: News Beast
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