PESHAWAR – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has launched an investigation into the deadly collapse of a private school in Peshawar’s Dir Colony and announced financial compensation for the victims’ families and injured survivors.
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has announced Rs1 million for the family of each person killed in the incident and Rs200,000 for each injured person.
The provincial Elementary and Secondary Education Department has formed a three-member committee to determine the causes of the collapse and recommend measures to prevent similar tragedies.
District-level inquiry committees have also been established to inspect private school buildings across the province. The teams will examine roofs, walls, foundations and other structural components, assess safety arrangements, identify dangerous buildings and recommend necessary repairs and reinforcement.
The incident in Dir Colony reportedly claimed the lives of 35 children and two female teachers, while around 54 children were injured. The police said approximately 110 children were present at the school when the building collapsed.
An FIR has been registered against the school building’s owner, co-owners and contractor. The complaint stated that the students had repeatedly warned the owners about deteriorating walls and ceilings and the risk of collapse, but their concerns were allegedly ignored.
According to the FIR, Al-Khair Education System was operating in the Saeedabad neighbourhood on a 16-marla plot owned by two local residents, identified as Waheed and Javed. In 2024, Mufti Khan Muhammad and other stakeholders reportedly leased the plot and hired contractor Shah Zaman to construct the school building.
The FIR alleged that substandard construction materials were used. It further stated that the ceilings of the nursery classrooms on the second floor and the Class 2 classrooms on the ground floor collapsed.
The initial casualty figures recorded in the FIR differed from subsequent reports, citing 30 children and one female teacher among the dead and 52 people injured. The authorities are verifying the full extent of the casualties.
The Peshawar tragedy follows other fatal school-related building collapses in Pakistan this year. On June 30, a tuition centre roof collapsed in Lahore’s Kahna area which claimed lives of 14 children.
