The Ministry of Education yesterday said it would complete the demolition of more than 200 old and dangerous buildings at elementary and junior-high schools by the end of this month as part of its initiative to improve safety on campuses.
The ministry in 2017 sought funding from the Executive Yuan for the special project to help local governments reinforce old or structurally weak school buildings to make them more resistant to earthquakes, or tear them down and rebuild them, it said in a statement.
The demolition of 246 school buildings that are immediately or potentially dangerous, or that would not be economically beneficial to reinforce, is to be completed this month, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education via CNA
Of those, 158 would be rebuilt, while the sites of the remaining 88 have already been leveled to be used for other purposes, it added.
The nation has more than 27,000 buildings at schools below the level of senior-high school, the ministry said, citing statistics.
As Taiwan is under constant threat of earthquakes, it is crucial for the government to ensure the safety of students and teachers, it said.
The ministry has also provided subsidies to reinforce 1,702 school buildings against earthquakes as part of the project, it added.
Taichung Municipal Tong Feng Junior High School, Chiayi County’s Siaji Elementary School and Tainan Municipal Anding District Anding Elementary School are some of the schools covered by the project.
The Taichung school, which has more than 50 years of history, had requested funding to tear down and rebuild one of its buildings, the ministry said.
A two-story structure with a black-and-white exterior was erected in the old building’s place, it said, adding that the new building houses a nonprofit kindergarten, as well as a library with smart technology and communal reading space.
An academic building at the Chiayi school that had been experiencing leaks and was not sufficiently earthquake-resistant was also demolished, the ministry said.
It has been replaced with a new building that was designed with concepts of green architecture and sustainability in mind, and features administrative offices, a library, classrooms, a kindergarten, as well as space for sports, it added.
Two new buildings were built for the Tainan school, which previously had a building with three floors that were constructed at different times, and that had sustained heavy damage in a 2016 earthquake, it said.
Although the funding from the special program is to end this year, the ministry is to continue to supervise local governments in their tracking of school buildings that might be at risk, it added.
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