Nicosia, Cyprus. State school pupils appear to be treated as “second class” compared with private school pupils due to differences in fire safety obligations, Auditor-general Andreas Papaconstantinou said in a report released on Thursday.
The report found shortcomings in the education ministry’s oversight of risk assessments, evacuation plans and fire safety certification at state schools.
Different safety requirements
Papaconstantinou said the differing institutional approach to health and safety obligations for state and private schools creates conditions of unequal competition and gives the impression that state school pupils are treated as second class.
He said fire safety laws for private schools are particularly strict and can provide for the suspension of operations where schools are not adequately safe.
He questioned why equivalent strictness and the same level of safety are not imposed in the environment attended by state school pupils.
Risk assessments and evacuation plans
The report said the education ministry does not have a structured supervision system to ensure the quality and completeness of written risk assessments and emergency evacuation plans.
It said the weaknesses increase the risk of serious incidents and could negatively affect the safety of pupils and staff.
Audit Office officials visited 20 schools during this part of the audit and found that only seven had submitted a written risk assessment and evacuation plan to the education ministry.
In the remaining cases, schools had either not submitted the documents or had submitted documents that did not meet ministry instructions. The report said the documents therefore function largely as a formal obligation rather than as a dynamic risk assessment.
Fire safety certificates
The report also found that the education ministry does not have centralised, updated and reliable information on whether state schools on the island hold valid fire safety certificates.
It said the ministry does not maintain a centralised register.