Lagos Begins Non-restrictive Integrity Test on Schools’ Infrastructure

Following the long absence of schooling in the state as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL) has flagged off the non-destructive test exercise on public school infrastructure to prevent any possibility of collapsed buildings and to ensure safety of pupils, students and staff of the institutions. The General Manager of the agency, Mr. Abiodun Afolabi, who disclosed this at a ceremony held at Omole Senior Secondary School, Omole, Ikeja, where the integrity exercise was flagged off, said it is another significant effort that affirms the commitment of the present administration to reform the Education and Environment sectors in line with the ‘T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda’. According to him, “We are flagging off the commencement of this exercise, which will be carried out in phases. The first phase includes the conduct of non-destructive test on 25 selected primary and secondary schools across the state, which will last for two weeks.” Explaining that the non-destructive tests being conducted by the agency are diagnostic in nature and will reveal any structural defects in the school buildings, the general manager disclosed that similar exercise had been extended to private schools in conjunction with the Ministry of Education with over 50 educational institutions in Ikeja subjecting their buildings to the test. Afolabi revealed that the agency in 2019 also carried out a similar exercise on government buildings within the old and new secretariat complexes at Alausa and Oba Akinjobi respectively, asserted that all the buildings passed the integrity test and were, therefore, declared structurally fit. He maintained that Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory is well equipped to carry out various quality assurance tests, including soil, water, concrete, non-destructive, geoscience among others. While advising residents to subject their buildings to requisite tests, the GM of the agency maintained that the process would go a long way in reducing the loss of lives and property resulting from building and civil engineering infrastructural defects.