150 schools will be repaired while 12 new schools will be built under the grant
The Government of Japan will provide assistance of 471 million Japanese Yen for improving the school structure to make it resilient to disaster in KPK. The grant will come under the UN-Habitat. The aim it is to provide a safe and stable educational environment to the students as well as the teachers. The project will support reconstruction and retrofitting and repairing of 150 schools and construction of 12 new schools.
Notes on the matter were inked and exchanged by H.E Mr. MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan and Mr. KORESAWA Atsushi, Regional Representative, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of UN-Habitat in Fukuoka, Japan. A Grant Agreement (G/A) on the details of implementation of the project was signed and exchanged between Mr. SAKAMOTO Takema, Director General, South Asia Department of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Mr. KORESAWA Atsushi.
Expressing his views at the signing of the project, Ambassador MATSUDA has said that “This project will not only provide disaster-resistant infrastructure of schools in KP province but will also prove a disaster prevention hub for the region.”
The Ambassador, while emphasizing the need of disaster-preparedness, stated that it is extremely important to prepare and well-equip to effectively handle the disaster emergencies. Matsuda also reiterated that his country will continue to support Pakistan for further strengthening its institutions for disaster management and also improving the facilities in education sector.
Many of the schools in Pakistan were either constructed decades ago or with substandard practices. These leaves the infrastructure vulnerable in case of a natural calamity such as an earthquake, which are pretty frequent in North of Pakistan. Building stronger schools and retrofitting the existing ones is a good step that should improve the students’ safety in case of a natural disaster.