MPs urge DFID to publish reviews on unsafe classrooms in Pakistan

• Letter to the Secretary of State for International Development

IMC Worldwide

IMC Worldwide was contracted by DFID in 2014to build over 30,000 classrooms in Pakistan at a cost to the UK taxpayer of £184 million. The contract was subsequently downgraded for the company to build 5,000 for £107 million, 58% of the cost. However, it later transpired that 92% of these classrooms failed to meet appropriate safety standards.

Safety concerns about some of IMC Worldwide's classroom designs were flagged to DFID by three independent safety studies as early as 2016 but the Department  did not  tell local Pakistan authorities to close the facilities until June 2019. 80% of the pupils have since then been taught in alternative school facilities, with the further 20% being taught in tents and sundries. DFID subsequently ordered IMC Worldwide to retrofit the classrooms, making them safe for children to return to the buildings by February 2020. The department also commissioned UCL to do a fourth independent safety study and undertook an internal audit analysis of how the Department handled management of these programmes.

In a question today (Wednesday 15 July), IDC Chair Sarah Champion asked the DFID Secretary of State, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, how advanced the retrofitting programme is, and whether the UCL Design Review and the DFID internal audit review can be made public. She also pressed the Secretary of State to disclose whether the same unsafe classroom design was used in other DFID-funded projects. The Secretary of State stated that coronavirus has delayed the retrofitting, and that the first of the buildings is expected to be handed over shortly for pupils to occupy.

Chair's comments

International Development Committee Chair, Sarah Champion, said:

“The vast sum of money paid to IMC Worldwide to build sub-standard classrooms for Pakistani communities is shameful. Not only did the building structures post a safety risk to children, they have been incredibly slow at retrofitting the classrooms to make them safe.

“DFID's policy to prioritise education for children in some of the world's most vulnerable communities is admirable, but it appears too many corners were cut in this scheme. To offer transparency to UK taxpayers who foot the bill for these programmes, I urge DFID to make the internal audit report and review into the safety of these classrooms public at the earliest opportunity.”

In addition to the schools programme in Pakistan, IMC Worldwide has stated that they were contracted by DFID to build classrooms in India with the same design. The Department say those designs have been reviewed and do not present risks but fails to provide details on what they are and why they are safer.

In a letter sent by the Chair of IDC to the DFID Secretary of State today, she asks:

• Will the Department commit to releasing into the public domain:
  o The UCL Final Design Review report;
  o The internal audit department's analysis; and
  o The DFID's Country Programmes leadership's response to the internal audit report?
• Will the Department also commit to publishing:
  o A list of all DFID-funded projects, in India and elsewhere, which were reviewed by DFID as a result of presenting the same Chinese-bond technique that was found to be unsafe for some KESP and PESP II classrooms. The list should include the names and location of all the programmes and projects in question;   
  o A detailed explanation of why the use of the same masonry design and construction technique was found by DFID to be safe with these other programmes and projects while it was found to be unsafe in Pakistan; and
  o A detailed explanation of why these other projects and programmes were only reviewed by DFID as opposed to commissioning an independent evaluation such as the ones used for KESP and PESP II?
• Can the Department provide us with a clear and final tally of the exact number of classrooms and schools still in need of retrofitting following from the UCL Design Review and the date by which, covid-19 permitting, the Department expects the retrofitting to be completed?
• Can the Department give us a list of all other DFID-funded programmes and projects involving IMC Worldwide and whether any of those could also present any safety concerns on any grounds?
• Finally, can the Department confirm whether IMC Worldwide will be expected to build any new classrooms for KESP and PESP II once the supplier is done retrofitting those that have already been built?

Image: Pixabay