Schools in Karachi received new orders from the Sindh Education Department and have been instructed to implement them immediately.
A notification issued by the School Education Department stated that new safety guidelines have been issued for schools across Sindh after the horrific Gul Plaza tragedy.
“All the private schools have been ordered to immediately implement the instructions,” the notification added.
These safety guidelines will ensure that every school install fire alarms, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers. The educational institutions will also clearly mark emergency exits and staircases.
Gul Plaza fire
A massive fire at Gul Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road has left the country in shock.
Authorities said the blaze started on January 17 around 10:00 PM and was brought under control after 34 hours. The death toll has risen to at least 71 till now, with 82 missing..
The building remains fragile and unsafe. Major concerns about further collapse are still there, reports suggest.
In a statement, Rescue 1122 Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr Abid Jalal said that while “more than 20 bodies have been recovered, the final number of dead cannot be stated at the moment”.
“Some bodies have been recovered in the form of body parts from various locations,” he added.
“Until it is determined through a technical and forensic verification whether these parts are of the same person or different people, confirming the correct number [of deaths] is difficult,” he further added.
School timings changed due to winter in Sindh
In a separate development, the Sindh Education Department earlier announced that school timings will remain from 9:00am across the province.
The decision was taken because of the extreme cold weather conditions.
The decision will apply equally to both government and private schools.
Earlier, Hyder Ali, Chairman of the All Sindh Private Schools and Colleges Association, formally asked for later school timings. He said the extreme cold has disturbed daily life.
He noted that the situation is worse in far-flung districts of Sindh.
Along with the proposed 9:00am start, the chairman called for an urgent meeting of the Private Schools Steering Committee. The aim is to finalise a revised academic calendar.
