Peshawar school roof collapse: inquiry finds building unfit, KP orders safety audit of all schools

An official inquiry into last week's deadly school collapse in Peshawar has found that the building was never fit to be a school. The roof that gave way at the private Al-Khair school in Dir Colony on Thursday, October 15, was a temporary structure that could not carry the weight of pupils and furniture, according to the report released on Tuesday, October 20. The collapse killed at least 34 people, most of them young children.

The tragedy at a glance

Date	Thursday, October 15, 2026, as first-period classes began
School	Al-Khair school (private), Dir Colony, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Enrolment	About 1,200 pupils, mostly from low-income families
Dead	At least 34 — 33 children and one teacher, according to the inquiry (some counts put the toll at 35)
Ages	Mostly 6 to 12; the oldest was 14
Injured	Dozens; at least 45 children were pulled out by rescuers
Arrest	The school's owner was arrested by police

A roof on an upper floor fell onto the classrooms below, crushing two storeys of the building. Nearly 100 rescuers, joined by parents, dug through the rubble; rescue officials said everyone trapped was recovered within hours, and the quick response may have saved dozens of lives. Lady Reading Hospital declared an emergency to treat the injured.

What the inquiry found

The inquiry by the Eastern Zone of Peshawar's Capital Metropolitan Government reported that:

• the roof was likely a temporary structure of wooden battens and burnt bricks — "structurally unsuitable" for a school;
• it could not bear the live load of students or the dead load of furniture, so the first-floor section fell to the ground floor;
• the building was originally built as a house in 2011, and municipal records hold no approved building plan for it;
• first-floor walls were cement bricks without cement plaster;
• a planning inspector had not flagged it as dangerous because it did not look hazardous from the outside.

Police had said soon after the collapse that the building was structurally weak and that construction work on the roof may have overloaded it. The owner blamed heavy rain that week. Witnesses said the narrow street slowed rescue teams.

The report says the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority is primarily responsible for regulating and monitoring schools. Separate reports from the deputy commissioner and police will be compiled by the Chief Secretary's Office and sent to the governor for final action.

Government response

• Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ordered safety inspections and audits of all private and government schools in the province.
• He asked for new legislation within 15 days that would allow schools failing safety standards to be closed.
• President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sent condolences to the families.

Why it matters

Thousands of low-fee private schools across Pakistan operate in converted houses and shops, often without approved plans or safety checks, because they are cheaper to run than purpose-built schools. Building collapses are a recurring danger — 14 people died in a collapse in Lahore in June. Parents who send children to such schools often have little choice, as government schools are overcrowded or far away.

What parents can check

• Ask whether the school is registered with the provincial regulatory authority.
• Look for cracks in walls and ceilings, sagging roofs, temporary upper floors and overcrowded classrooms.
• Report unsafe buildings to the district education office or the private schools regulator.

What happens next

The Chief Secretary's Office will finalise a combined report for the governor, who is expected to decide on action against those responsible. The province-wide school audit and the promised law will show whether lessons are learned — or whether, as after earlier tragedies, little changes.