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The other day, I heard the spokesperson for the audit office on a radio show talking about air conditioners in schools, following the release of a related report by his agency a few days ago. When asked by a reporter if there was a risk of electric shock, the answer was as clear as it was shocking. Of course there is a risk of electric shock.
I looked back at the report itself, which concerned a random—as is customary—inspection of five schools. These schools had been designated by the Ministry of Education itself, along with others, as having completed the installation of air conditioners. The picture is extremely alarming.
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According to the report, air conditioning units were put into operation without prior inspection and certification of the electrical installation, as well as without a final inspection and approval. There are instances of makeshift electrical connections that are exposed in plain view. In one instance, the door safety device was removed from an electrical panel, making it possible to access the panel without first shutting off the power supply. This may have been done because the circuit breaker frequently tripped due to overload and needed to be reset. A related case was reported in which a circuit breaker in an electrical panel tripped and was reset seven times within the same day.
According to the report, this practice poses a risk of causing serious accidents, endangering the health and safety of children and teachers. The operation of such air conditioning systems should be terminated immediately. Finally, the situation arose because the prescribed implementation stages were bypassed—with the Ministry of Education’s full knowledge.
Unthinkable, yet true. We set out to solve a problem that has plagued children and teachers for years, and we created another, much more serious problem. The “air conditioners” issue, unfortunately, reflects the way problems are often handled in this country. At first, we ignore them. When someone points them out, our reaction is to downplay and overlook them. When we feel that things have reached a breaking point, we decide to address them—to feel, and above all to show, that we’ve done something, sometimes something big. But this “handling” is more about appearances than substance. That’s the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is when the problem remains unresolved or when a “cosmetic” solution threatens our safety and health. Here, judging by the outcome, the installation of air conditioners was considered a solution. Their operation—and more importantly, their safe operation—did not seem to be part of the equation. Or at least not yet.
There is much one could write and say. What is perhaps most infuriating is the ease or casualness with which the government bypasses the rules and procedures it has itself established—especially on a matter of safety. Security, however, is a State’s first and foremost obligation to its citizens. The State’s responsibility is even greater when it comes to infrastructure and facilities under its ownership and control, and it is even greater still when it comes to children, as well as employees and educators, while they are fulfilling the duty and obligation that the State has to educate its children.
