Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL), on Monday, flagged-off the non-destructive test exercise on public schools infrastructure to prevent any possibility of collapsed buildings and ensure the safety of pupils, students and staff of the institutions in the state.
General Manager of LSMTL, Dr Abiodun Afolabi, disclosed at the ceremony, which held at Omole Senior Secondary School, Omole, Ikeja, describing the exercise as another significant effort that affirmed 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 Afolabi, the exercise will be carried out in phases, saying the first phase includes the conduct of non-destructive test on 25 selected primary and secondary schools across the state and would last for two weeks.
“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 and will last for two weeks,” he said.
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The agency boss, while explaining that the non-destructive tests being conducted by the are diagnostic in nature and will reveal any structural defects in the school buildings, 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.
He revealed that LSMTL, while recalling 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.
Afolabi maintained that LSMTL was well equipped to carry out various quality assurance tests, including soil, water, concrete, non-destructive, Geoscience, among others, urging residents to subject their buildings to requisite tests as the process would go a long way in reducing the loss of lives and property resulting from building and civil engineering infrastructure defects.