Building collapse: FG reads riot act to school contractors

Federal Government has vowed to take decisive actions against builders of sub-standard schools nationwide.

It also mandated stakeholders, including State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), to prioritise quality in the implementation of school construction projects.

The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, gave the warning, yesterday, during the staff training for the Commission’s department of physical planning.

The training was meant to enhance quality delivery of projects, using simple tools for on-the-spot assessment at project sites.

The training, which was organised by the commission, in collaboration with the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and a private firm, Tectonics Engineering Group, held at UBEC Digital Resource Centre, Abuja.

Bobboyi warned contractors that the Commission would no longer accept shoddy work and school infrastructure that failed to meet standards.

He restated the commitment of the Commission and SUBEB to improving the quality of school structures to ensure safe and conducive learning environment for Nigerian children.

He also disclosed that the commission would deploy monitors to monitor constructions for schools.

According to him, educational infrastructures are sensitive projects that must be handled with ultimate sense of responsibility so as not to risk the lives of children and staff of institutions.

He said: “We are dealing with a very strategic sector, children who are between the ages of five and about 12 that are very vulnerable in any building collapse. We saw that when it happened in Jos.

“It is our responsibility to ensure we take all necessary steps to build school infrastructures that are solid and can stand the test of time,” he stated.

According to him, the commission has an elaborate monitoring system for construction of educational infrastructure or school infrastructure.

He also said the commission was working with NBRRI through its Chief Executive, Prof. Samson Duna, and had also been working with Council for Registration of Engineers in Nigeria (COREN) for a few years to make sure they were part of the monitoring teams at the state level.

Duna, in his remarks, described the training as a proactive step by UBEC to tackle rampant building collapse in Nigeria, especially school buildings.

“I’m now warning contractors involved in taking contracts in constructing schools without following the required specification. They should sit up.

“UBEC has come up with an idea of ascertaining the quality of construction material used on site.”

The quality of concrete needs to be specified and the contractor must adhere to it. If he didn’t use it, the UBEC staff members visiting the site are expected to come back with tools. Those tools will enable them to know if the contractor is using the right material.”