I refer to the NST report (Sept 27 2008) captioned “Boy dies in school accident”

I refer to the NST report (Sept 27 2008) captioned “Boy dies in school accident”.

A Form Five student was killed in a bizarre incident in the study room of his boarding school when the wall collapsed on him at SMK Datuk Harun in Tanjung Karang, Selangor.

This is not the first time such a fatal accident occurred in a school.

Over the years a number of fatal accidents had occurred in schools involving innocent school students.

In the wake of latest tragedy, it is all the more urgent for the Education Ministry to emphasize and implement a Safety and Health Policy for all schools and make them safe and healthy places of work for teachers, students and visitors alike.

A matter of utmost concern is that of the quality of construction of the school wall by the contractor concerned.

This latest tragic accident should be thoroughly investigated and action be taken against those responsible.

The subject of “safe schools” should not be confined only to aspects concerning indiscipline, crime, threats to the safety of students, bullying and gangster-like behaviour etc but also matters concerning the safety of school buildings, classrooms, equipment and all available amenities in schools. In short the aspect concerning occupational safety and health in schools should be looked into.

In this regard, there is a need for schools to be aware of the existence and importance of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and its application to educational institutions in the interest of safety and health.

The application of the Act to the schools as “the place of work” aims to make all schools safe and healthy places of work for teachers, students or visitors alike.

In line with the provisions in the Act, it is the duty of the employers (school management) to formulate a safety and health policy for the school, implement risk prevention through safety and health inspection and safety and health auditing of schools to identify weaknesses and shortcomings and to decide on remedial measures in the interest of safety and health at the workplaces.

Through safety and health training and education as well as safety and health promotion, every school will be more aware of the potential safety and health hazards in all parts of the school such as the classrooms, walls and pillars, school laboratories etc and be more capable of dealing with them.

Ensuring that all schools and educational institutions take an active interest in safety and health will also benefit the students who can learn more about safety and health and be safety conscious from an early and receptive age. This will benefit them greatly when they enter the work-environment.