FAISALABAD, April 13: The education department authorities are allegedly trying to save the skin of their negligent officials as they have held the neighbours of the Government Elementary Girls’ School, Chak 22-GB, responsible for wall collapse which left four minor students injured.

Sources said the district administration had constituted a committee, comprising the DEO (elementary), to probe the matter. In its findings, the committee submitted that some neighbours — Muhammad Ismail, Muhammad Saleem, Muhammad Shafi, Abdul Sattar and Muhammad Arshad — had encroached on the school land and had been disposing of wastewater of their houses towards the school wall. The water flow caused the wall to collapse, the report identified.

It also read that the 1000-foot long wall had no support as

the villagers had uplifted the land.

Four minor girls — Nazia, Ayesha, Sanam and Shareefan Bibi — suffered multiple injuries on April 3 when the 40-foot long dilapidated portion of the boundary wall of their school collapsed. The incident took place when the students were playing during the break.

Sanam and Shareefan Bibi suffered serious fractures and were shifted to the Allied Hospital where they were treated for many days.

Established in 1972 over 22 kanals and 3 marlas, the school which was later upgraded to the middle level in 2000 has 379 students on its rolls and 11 teachers. Its building is in a dilapidated condition as no major (construction) work has been carried out after it came into being.

According to the official record made available to Dawn, some 13 kanals of the land have been illegally occupied by the villagers and no solid step has been taken to get the land vacated.

The inquiry officer had suggested action against the villagers who have occupied the school land. The report said the wall was in a run-down condition and required immediate repair or reconstruction to avert any eventuality in future.

The inquiry report had, however, not recommended any action against the delinquent education department officials.

Sources said the government had appointed a number of monitoring officers to check the status of schools.

Besides, a project to ascertain the missing facilities in schools had also been initiated, but the recent wall collapse incident had exposed the inefficiency of the monitoring officials.

They said the officials had visited the school many times in the recent past, but none of them drew the attention of higher authorities towards the condition of the building and its boundary wall.

When EDO (Education) Mumtaz Shah’s attention was drawn towards the issue, he said he, together with other officials, had visited the school many times and found the passageway (entrance) fine. “However, the monitoring officials could pass on any information regarding the boundary wall’s condition if they had seen it.”

He said the department would act against any officer found guilty of negligence.