Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has announced Rs. 1 million for the family of each person killed and Rs. 200,000 for each injured person after the roof collapse at a private school in Peshawar’s Dir Colony on Thursday, October 15. The governor made the announcement during a visit to the school. Dawn reported at least 30 children and a teacher dead, while The Nation, Nukta and Samaa later put the toll at 33 or 34. Figures were still changing on Friday.
Who signed off on the building
Kundi said investigators would first establish who issued the no-objection certificate (NOC) for the building. He alleged that the previous administration had failed to carry out proper safety audits, and said investigators would examine every party involved, from the school owner to the government departments responsible for oversight. Samaa reported that the inquiry is to be completed within four days.
The school owner has been arrested, and the governor briefed the prime minister on this. According to the FIR, the school was operating on a 16-marla plot in Saeedabad owned by two residents. In 2024, Mufti Khan Muhammad and other stakeholders reportedly leased the plot and hired a contractor, Shah Zaman, to build it. Samaa reported that the FIR alleges substandard construction, and that it names the owners and the contractor.
Inspections go beyond Peshawar
The Elementary and Secondary Education Department has formed a three-member committee to establish the cause of the collapse. District-level committees will inspect private school buildings across the province, checking roofs, walls and foundations, and identifying dangerous buildings. Nukta reported that these committees must give recommendations on repairs and closure within three days. The prime minister’s office has called for mandatory structural audits of all public and private schools and for accountability of both the owner and the regulators.
How the aid compares
The Rs. 1 million figure matches what the Sindh government announced after the 2025 Karachi building collapse in Lyari. Sindh offered Rs. 300,000 for each injured person, against Rs. 200,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Reports on this announcement vary slightly on whether the Rs. 1 million is for each child killed or each person killed, so the exact wording of the notification matters for the teacher’s family.
