Government should set up special committees to regularly inspect and monitor safety and security at the Kingdom's schools. This is the call being made in a proposal by the governorates of the Kingdom's regions. The proposal calls for main committees to be set up in the cities, with subcommittees in the governorates and rural areas. The committees should consist of representatives of the Ministry of Education, governorates, mayoralties, directorates of Civil Defense and the Traffic Department. The proposal calls for government to issue certificates of quality for rented buildings. The committees are also to ensure that buildings are free of cracks, away from flood hazards and have complied with safety regulations related to protection from lightning. There should be clear access to routes for escape or rescue at schools, according to the proposal. Schools should also have emergency and normal exits that are suitably illuminated and supported with iron ladders and modern firefighting systems, firefighting hose boxes, water pumps and early warning fire alarm systems. The governorates called for these committees to be assigned the task of checking standby generators, gas leakage detection systems, the methods for disposing of laboratory materials and the availability of laboratory technicians who have knowledge of how to deal with dangerous materials. In another development, the Ministry of Education has directed its administrations to allocate a safety counselor at every school in line with the directives of the Minister of Interior; and for the directorate of Civil Defense to train these safety counselors in collaboration with the maintenance and projects departments at the education administrations.
