Khyber Authorities Seal Five Private Schools Over Severe Safety Hazards

KHYBER: District authorities on Friday sealed five private schools across Khyber tribal district after inspection teams discovered that their dilapidated structures posed severe risks to the lives of students and staff. The coordinated crackdown was initiated in the wake of a tragic roof collapse at a private educational institute in neighbouring Peshawar a day earlier, which claimed the lives of 30 students and a teacher, prompting immediate scrutiny of academic infrastructure across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Following strict directives issued by Khyber Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali, three high-level inspection committees visited multiple private and public institutions across Landi Kotal, Bara, and Jamrud tehsils. The scrutiny panels comprised respective assistant commissioners alongside technical officials from the education department, the communication and works department, irrigation authorities, and the tehsil municipal administration. Multiple facilities in all three subdivisions were found to be operating in severely compromised structures lacking basic structural integrity.

The administrative intervention underscores mounting concerns over unregulated private school buildings operating across newly merged tribal districts, where construction standards often go unchecked. Civil society and parents have expressed deep distress over the safety oversight in educational facilities, demanding that the provincial government enforce stringent structural audits and building codes before granting or renewing operational licences. The sealing of the hazardous campuses highlights an urgent push to prevent another catastrophic infrastructure failure.

District officials confirmed that comprehensive structural assessments of both public and private schools will continue over the coming days, with teams instructed to submit detailed technical reports on every facility. Authorities warned that any institution failing to meet mandatory safety standards or attempting to operate without official clearance will face immediate closure and severe legal penalties.