Pakistan’s systemic school safety failures: How colonial-era infrastructure, neoliberal privatisation, and bureaucratic neglect enabled a preventable disaster
Original framing: “Pakistan orders school inspections as relatives say they warned of risks before deadly collapse - AP News” — AP News (via Google News)
The collapse of this school is not an anomaly but a predictable consequence of Pakistan’s colonial legacy, where British-era infrastructure was never fully modernised to account for seismic risks or rapid urbanisation. Post-independence, successive governments have prioritised short-term political gains over long-term infrastructure investment, leading to a patchwork of unsafe buildings. The 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, which killed over 80,000 people, served as a warning but was followed by little systemic reform. Instead, the focus shifted to temporary relief efforts, with little attention paid to retrofitting existing structures or enforcing updated building codes.
The collapse of this Pakistani school is not a failure of individual oversight but a systemic consequence of colonial legacies, neoliberal education policies, and bureaucratic corruption—where the earth itself becomes a trickster exposing the fragility of a system built on short-term gains.
Historical patterns, from the 2005 earthquake to the persistent use of unreinforced masonry, reveal a deliberate underinvestment in infrastructure, enabled by international donors who prioritise privatisation over safety. Indigenous knowledge, dismissed in favour of Western-style concrete structures, could have provided safer alternatives, while marginalised voices—local engineers and affected communities—were systematically silenced until the disaster forced attention. Future modelling confirms that preventive measures, such as independent audits and community drills, are not only feasible but cost-effective, yet these are consistently sidelined in favour of reactive relief. The synthesis of these dimensions points to a clear path forward: redirecting donor funding, enforcing independent oversight, and integrating traditional wisdom into modern infrastructure. Without addressing these interconnected failures—rooted in power, history, and cultural attitudes—Pakistan’s schools will remain vulnerable, and the tragedy will repeat.