74 school buildings identified as unsafe – Education Minister

Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha has warned that 74 school buildings across the island have been identified as unsafe buildings, posing potential threats to the safety of students.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (15 Nov.), Premajayantha stated that all principals too, have been informed to be alert of the conditions of the buildings constructed within their school premises, and in the event any building is found unsafe, that measures be taken to evacuate schoolchildren out of the said building, so as to ensure their safety.

The Education Minister also noted that new constructions are set to be erected in Thurstan College, Colombo and the Tangalle Balika Vidyalaya, after dilapidated buildings were identified within their premises.

Commenting further in this regard, Minister Premajayantha noted that the reason behind there being so many dilapidated buildings in schools was because the government stopped funding the construction of new school buildings and the maintenance of those already existing in 2019.

The Minister’s parliamentary speech comes on the heels of an incident reported from a school in Wellampitiya, where a 6-year-old child was killed and several others were left injured after a school wall collapsed on Wednesday (15).