More than 150 schools in Britain were informed that they would have to close some of their buildings as they were deemed unsuitable for security reasons, which caused theaction of parents and teachers on the eve of the start of the new school year and a new “headache” for the government.
The British Ministry of Education announced that 156 schools have been affected by the presence of so-called Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Cement (RAAC) in their buildings and authorities have ruled that they are at risk of collapse.
The UK education system, which is still recovering from a period of remote education during the pandemic, has been hit by teacher strikes in 2023, within six months, in addition to the challenge of funding shortages in an environment of high inflation – as the schools themselves complain.
The sense that vital national infrastructure is crumbling adds to the existing challenge facing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak heading into national elections next year and given the strike mobilizations in the field of education, health and transport.
Education Minister Gillian Keegan said the majority of affected schools would remain open for all pupils to be taught as the dangerous cement had only been found in a small section of school buildings.
But some schools will face permanent or temporary closures. “In some cases it will be the whole school,” Deputy Education Secretary Nick Gibb told Sky News today.
He added that it would probably be safe for students to be in a classroom whose ceiling would be supported by steel beams.
The news comes just days before the start of the new school year after the six-week summer break, prompting questions about why the government announced the school closures at the last minute.
“The Ministry of Education and the Government have wasted precious months hiding the crisis when they should be repairing dangerous school buildings”, said UNISON union leader Mike Short. Keegan, for her part, commented that security is the first priority for the government. “This decision was taken out of an abundance of caution,” it said in a statement.
Source: News Beast
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