All schools must have safety coordinators

I REFER to the reports “Lax attitudes fuel risk of fire” and “Fire safety lapses plague schools” (The Star, June 25), which paint a disturbing picture of fire safety deficiencies in our schools.

I believe the problem lies in two fundamental areas – misallocation of responsibility and an inconsistent approach to enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994.

Our teachers and headmasters are amazing at teaching, but they haven’t been trained to spot tricky fire hazards and do not know the intricacies of emergency plans.

Under OSHA, any workplace with five or more employees must have an occupational safety and health (OSH) coordinator. A school is definitely a workplace, but how many actually have OSH coordinators? Very few, if any, from what I understand.

The Act states that if a workplace isn’t safe, the person in charge, in this case the school principal or even potentially higher-ranking officials like the Education director-general who may be considered the “employer” or a “principal” under the Act, could face significant legal repercussions, including fines or even jail time for non-compliance.

A staff member in every school must be appointed and trained as an OSH coordinator.

This individual will receive training in key areas of safety, including Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Control (HIRARC), with fire safety being a critical component.

He or she can serve as a vital bridge between the school and external bodies like the Fire and Rescue Department and relevant NGOs, which offer emergency and fire training.

While the Fire and Rescue Department possesses the authority to shut down private establishments for fire safety non-compliance under the Fire Services Act 1988, there seems to be a different, more lenient standard applied to government-run schools.

The sheer number of abatement notices issued, as highlighted in the reports, is alarming, yet punitive measures beyond warnings appear to be rare.

The lives of our children and teachers in any school, whether government or private, are equally precious, hence the rules must be the same for everyone, and they must be enforced strictly.

Let’s make safety a hallmark of our education system.

CHIN YEW SIN

Shah Alam