Schools fail to meet safety standards: Sardinia and Lazio are among the worst offenders.

In Italy, only 37.2% of school buildings have a certificate of occupancy , the document certifying the safety, hygiene, health, and energy efficiency of the buildings and their installed systems. And, at the national level, Lazio (only 12.7% of buildings are habitable) comes last, along with Sardinia (14.2%, or 233 out of 1,645 buildings) and Sicily (21.1%).

This is the complaint contained in a dossier by Tuttoscuola , drawn up on data provided by the Ministry of Education and Merit.

The report, however, highlights that "the best conditions are in the Aosta Valley (87.8% of habitable buildings), Piedmont (53.4%) and Veneto (52.7%)."

Furthermore, the analysis continues, " only 33.8% of Italian school buildings have a fire prevention certificate. And more than six out of ten buildings lack a Certificate of Approval for the heating system. This isn't a bureaucratic formality: it's the guarantee that a school's heating system operates safely, without risk to students, teachers, and staff. Its absence means that the facility doesn't provide the minimum protection required by law."

«For one in five buildings – the report continues – the Risk Assessment Document (DVR) has not been prepared , a mandatory pillar of workplace safety, which identifies and assesses risks and outlines the necessary prevention measures (starting with training)».

And then: "In case of evacuation, one in six buildings (17.7% in particular) lacks a plan." As for earthquake-proof design , which is essentially "the structural identity card of a building constructed in a seismic zone (therefore throughout Italy), 12.7% of school buildings (about 5,000 out of 40,000) have one. In Abruzzo, only 10.8%, and in Sardinia, only 11 out of 1,645 buildings (0.7%).

In short, the Tuttoscuola report concludes that of the 40,000 state school buildings in Italy, "a full 36,000 lack one or more mandatory safety certifications . And nearly one in 10 doesn't even have one." Not to mention that 3,600 buildings, where 700,000 people study or work, "are completely irregular."

(Unioneonline/lf)