Recent rains caused collapse of walls, roof in three colleges

Buildings of state-run colleges pose threats to the lives of hundreds of students and teachers as the roofs of some buildings or walls in as many as three colleges located in various areas of the city collapsed during the recent rainy days.

The roof of the Government Degree Boys College’s auditorium collapsed on Friday. The college is located in North Karachi Sector 5L. Fortunately, the incident took place early in the morning when no students and teachers were present in the college.

Likewise, three days ago, chunks of plaster from the ceiling and outer walls of a historical college, Jamia Millia College, located in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony fell off. No one was injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, teachers of the Government Degree Girls College North Karachi 11-B reported that walls of the college crumbled on Monday night. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the wall collapse.

Expressing concern over ramshackle buildings of state-run colleges, the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association in a statement said that the Sindh Building Control Authority had declared several buildings of government colleges dangerous but restoration work had not been initiated by the Directorate of Colleges and the works department.

The association maintained that the principals of those colleges had sent several letters to the directorate reminding the relevant officials to start repair work but to no avail.

The SPLA appealed to the education minister and the college education secretary to look into the matter and take immediate steps for the restoration of the dangerous college buildings.