Right to learn, right to safety in schools

WE send our children to schools believing they are safe places where they can learn – but a recent report has shaken that belief.

The Fire and Rescue Department recently revealed that out of 853 schools inspected for fire hazards, 144 were flagged and 767 enforcement notices were issued for defective firefighting equipment, missing exit signs, absent emergency lighting and other safety lapses – that’s one in six schools in a single nationwide sweep.

We find that alarming.

Consider the tragic precedent – the 2017 blaze at a tahfiz in Jalan Keramat Hujung, Kuala Lumpur, which killed 25 students. Since then, we’ve seen dormitory fires in the Klang Valley in Setapak, Cheras and Bukit Puchong, as well as in Terengganu.

Fire codes and safety regulations are not decorative, not some­thing to merely pay lip service to. They represent the thin line between life and death.

That so many of our schools failed even rudimentary checks on that line suggests, at the least, carelessness and at worst, wilful blindness at the heart of our educational and administrative systems.

But fire hazards are only the most visible symptom of a broa­der issue at schools.

We’ve had reports over the years that some schools are creaking under the weight of neglected infrastructure. Roofs collapse. Wiring is exposed. Rural buildings stand on sinking ground.

There’s always a reaction no doubt – but then, we’re famous for being reactive rather than proactive, aren’t we?

Why can’t we change that mentality, at least when it comes to these most vulnerable members of our society?

Can we ensure no child will risk facing a blaze or a collapse by instituting a regular system of checks?

We can begin with the Edu­ca­tion Ministry – as custodian of schools, it must change the situation in which hundreds of institutions have been allowed to ope­rate without meeting safety standards.

The Fire and Rescue Depart­ment, responsible for enforcing fire regulations, has issued noti­ces and warnings – but how often are these followed up on with legal action if lapses are not reme­died?

Of the 144 schools the department revealed were flagged, only three have faced legal action so far. What is the value of a fire notice if it leads nowhere?

And where in this situation is the Public Works Department (JKR), which is responsible for maintaining public buildings?

These abdications of duty must stop.

Our schools must be more than blackboards and books. They must be sanctuaries, physically secure, structurally sound and fire-safe.

To reach that standard, we must act with purposeful force. Expand inspections beyond fire safety. Roofing, wiring, drainage and structural stability must be assessed on rolling schedules, with public disclosure of results.

Budget allocations for school maintenance must grow, not shrink, as enrolments increase. Rural and remote schools should be the first recipients, not the last.

Schools must also appoint trained safety coordinators, and local authorities and the Fire and Rescue Department must conduct surprise inspections, not just annual audits.

We cannot live with a system in which the ministry delegates and forgets, Fire and Rescue warns and retreats, and JKR repairs only after a collapse or fire.

We invest so much in the curriculum, teacher training and technology, yet neglect what lies overhead and beneath our children’s feet.

We owe our children more than platitudes about “safe learning environments”. We owe them safe schools.

Until then, every safety lapse that leads to injury, or worse, death, every structural crack that leads to a collapse and every dormitory that catches on is not an accident – it is a failure we choose to tolerate.