School building collapse: NGO berates regulatory agencies for negligence

Save-Public-Education-Campaign, an NGO has reiterated the need for governments at all levels to ensure school safety for innocent students seeking education.

The Coordinator, Save-Public-Education-Campaign, Vivian Bello, was reacting to the Jos School building collapse in a statement to newsmen, in Abuja on Saturday.

Bello, while expressing deep shock and profound sadness at the tragic incident on July 12 at the All Saints Academy, Busa-Buji in Jos, said there were negligence and compromise both by regulatory authorities and private owners.

“The School, All Saints Academy, Busa-Buji in Jos Metropolis, had hundreds of students who were sitting for their examination when the building caged-in trapping the students and resulting in the deaths of over 22 young students so far with many more wounded.

“The Save-Public-Education-Campaign considers this as a monumental disaster more especially in view of the category of persons involved.

“And intrinsically to consider that this tragic incident and the invaluable innocent lives it has taken, was very avoidable in the first place,” she said.

According to Bello, going by the admission of the state government itself, there were negligence and compromise both by regulatory authorities as well as private owners and actors.

“This stands out prominently in the tragedy that occurred. These acts are purely criminal in nature and we demand thorough investigation and prosecution of all who were involved in this.

“We commiserate with the families and relatives of the affected children and teachers, as well as the entire school community and people of Plateau State over the distressing incident.

“We urge them to take solace in the fact that these great kids and their teachers died in the course of improving themselves so as to add value to their society, the country and humanity at large.

“They therefore did not die in vain,” she said.

She explained that the reoccurrence of building collapse in the country had become a growing concern and a clear threat to public safety.

She, therefore, said this required immediate attention and action from all the relevant safety as well as building regulators and agencies, to rise to the occasion and find a lasting solution to the menace.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a two-story school building at the Little Saints Academy, Busa-Buji, Jos Metropolis, collapsed during classes on Friday, July 12, 2024.

The tragic incident had resulted in the deaths of 22 students, with many more sustaining various degrees of injuries.

(NAN)