Assessing the Indoor Environment of Primary Schools in the Southwest of Turkey

In developing countries, the effects of natural disasters and accidents are often more serious in those buildings with a high number of occupants as a consequence of deficiencies in the built design and insufficiency of inspections. We have surveyed a number of state primary schools to examine their interior physical environment with respect to school safety and security. We studied all the 37 state primary schools located in the Isparta region of Turkey during the period between March and May of 2002. The results showed that all the schools of the region had a number of inadequacies because they had not been adequately adapted to comply with existing standards. Most of the schools had over-large class sizes, had one or more classrooms in an underground floor (proscribed in areas where there is a high risk of earthquakes), inadequate security and safety precautions to ensure pupil safety and had no proper air ventilation within the classrooms. The survey showed that local and central official bodies must reinforce the need for standards and ensure the implementation of high standards in the schools to ensure the pupil health, safety and security, and that they should work together with parents and other local associations.