LAHORE: After police arrested the owner of a school in Bahawalpur following a wall collapse incident which also claimed life of a student, the Punjab School Education Department (SED) has written to deputy commissioners and chief executive officers (CEOs) to ensure safety and security of schoolchildren in schools.

The wall of Ahmed School Education System at Bindra Pulli Bagarpur Road in Usman Colony in Bahawalpur collapsed. The school is a partner of the Punjab Education Foundation.The letter states CEOs and other District Education Authorities (DEAs) officials should ensure the safety of schools in their jurisdiction and a structure stability certificate must be sought from owners of schools.

`Dangerous buildings may be repaired on a top priority basis`, reads the letter.

Other safety measures stated in the letter includes the proper maintenance of electric wiring and motor pumps, availability of potable drinking water and covered water tanks.

The letter said that safe exit of students should also be ensured, and for this, a teacher should be deployed on the exit.

The schools providing pick and drop facility to children must obtain a fitness certificate of their vehicles.

The letter reminded these directions had been conveyed time to time for strict compliance, however, occurrences of such incidents showed poor compliance and negligence on the part of field formations. SED Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik told Dawn that the owner of the school had been arrested and the school had been sealed. Reporter