Dozens of British schools built from a type of defective concrete that is at risk of collapse will not be able to welcome their students at the start of the school year, the government warned on Thursday, pledging emergency aid.
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The problem had been known for several years and work had been carried out in numerous factories, but around a hundred of them “did not take any action” and the government therefore asked them to “evacuate the rooms or buildings known to accommodate this type of concrete” . the Education Ministry said in a press release.
For a “minority” of schools and colleges where the problem is very widespread, this means that they will have to “find an alternative location, in whole or in part,” to accommodate students at the start of the school year scheduled for next week, the ministry stresses .
“Parents will be contacted by the school if students are moved to a temporary location during repairs,” he said.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring that children and their carers are safe in schools and colleges, and that is why we are acting (…) before the start of the semester,” explained Education Minister Gillian Keegan to the press release.
The Government is committed to providing financial support to facilities to carry out the most urgent work to secure facilities.
Among the companies affected by the presence of this defective concrete, which was used in the construction of public buildings in the United Kingdom and other European countries between the 1950s and the mid-1980s, around fifty have already started work or protective measures.
“It is absolutely shameful and a sign of government incompetence that 104 schools learned a few days before the start of the school year that certain parts or all of their buildings were dangerous and could not be used,” replied the general secretary of the education union NEW Daniel Kebede , in a press release.
He also complains about the lack of government support to finance the costs of using temporary buildings.