MPs condemn 'shameful' spending of £107m to build dangerously shoddy classrooms in Pakistan

A committee of MPs have condemned the “shameful” spending of £107m of taxpayers money to build classrooms in Pakistan that ended up dangerously substandard.

The rooms commissioned by the Department for International Development are so unsafe that many pupils have instead been taught in tents.

The International Development Committee on Wednesday asked for DFID to publish two internal reviews on the project with Surrey-based aid contractor IMC Worldwide.

“The vast sum of money paid to IMC Worldwide to build sub-standard classrooms for Pakistani communities is shameful,” said Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the Commons aid watchdog.

“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.”

More than nine-out-of-ten of the classrooms have failed to meet safety standards.

IMC Worldwide was contracted by DFID in 2014 to build over 30,000 classrooms in Pakistan at a cost to the UK taxpayer of £184 million. The contract was later downsized to build 5,000 for £107 million.

Yet it later transpired that 92 per cent of these classrooms failed to meet appropriate safety standards.

A statement by the committee said that safety fears about the classrooms came up as early as 2016, but DFID did not tell local Pakistani authorities to close them until a year ago. Four-in-five pupils have since been taught in alternative premises, while 20 per cent have had lessons in tents.

DFID ordered IMC to retrofit the classrooms to make them safe, but delays due to the coronavirus pandemic have meant the first repaired school has yet to be handed over.

Ms Champion said: “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.”

A DFID spokesman told the Telegraph: “The safety of children is our number one priority. It is completely unacceptable schools, which UK aid commissioned IMC to build, have not been built to the necessary standards.

“IMC have committed to retrofit unsafe schools and classrooms to ensure these are fit for purpose.”

IMC in response said that its own analysis showed the "vast majority of classrooms have been deemed safe and can be handed back to the local authorities as Covid restrictions and DFID confirmation allow".

"Some classrooms require some retrofitting.  This is to meet higher standards that have been extensively researched over the course of the programme," a statement said. The firm said it "would never put children and teachers at risk".

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