KP orders school safety survey after deadly Peshawar roof collapse

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities have ordered inspections of private-school buildings after the collapse of a school roof in Peshawar killed 34 children and a teacher, while injuring more than 50 others.

The collapse occurred at Al-Khair school in Dir Colony on Thursday. Police arrested the school owner and opened an investigation. Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak; the owner told officers that recent rain had weakened part of the roof.

The provincial government has directed the education department to form district committees to inspect private-school buildings and submit findings and recommendations within three days. Relatives of victims said they had raised concerns about leaks and the building’s condition before the collapse.

A separate official Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information department notice broadens the required response beyond the affected school. It directs a renewed review of safety arrangements at educational institutions across the province and a survey of school buildings, with a report due within four days. The notice says the purpose is to identify potential risks and assess the condition of buildings. https://dgipr.kp.gov.pk/ese-16-10-26/

That distinction matters for parents: the announced measure is a survey and safety review, not yet a published list of schools cleared as safe or ordered closed. The outcome will depend on whether inspection findings lead to repairs, closures or enforcement action.

UNICEF said on October 15 that the victims were mostly under 14 and called for public and private schools to meet building-safety standards and undergo regular inspections. Its statement reflected an earlier confirmed toll, so the higher death toll reported later should not be treated as a contradiction. https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/press-releases/unicef-statement-school-roof-collapse-peshawar-pakistan%E2%80%AF

Authorities have not publicly released the completed cause-of-collapse inquiry. The pending inspection reports and the police investigation are therefore the next concrete tests of whether responsibility is established and whether unsafe school buildings are identified before another accident.