The Safety Investigation Committee of the Consumer Affairs Agency, the so-called "Consumer Accident Investigation" will clarify the contents of the report to be compiled soon, and will request the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to conduct emergency inspections of high-risk areas in schools nationwide.
The Consumer Accident Investigation Investigation has been conducting investigations for the past three years to prevent recurrence of accidents involving school facilities and equipment, which have resulted in the deaths and serious injuries of children. The contents of the book were revealed on March 1st.
According to the Consumer Accident Survey, nine elementary and junior high school students died in the 10 years until March last year, and while cleaning, they lost their balance on a bookcase by the window and fell from the second floor of the school building. It means that "falling from the window", such as a case, accounted for half.
In addition, an analysis of 103 non-fatal accidents that occurred in the five years up to March last year showed that by equipment, there were those caused by "glass such as windows and doors", such as cutting the arm with glass. It is the most common, and it is said that it has risen to about a quarter of the total.
On the other hand, the law stipulates that the safety of school facilities and equipment must be regularly inspected. In total, more than 60% of the more than 300 elementary and junior high schools do not fully consider the risk of falling from windows, highlighting the fact that effective inspection methods have not been established. That's it.
In light of this, we will publish a report soon and ask the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to carry out emergency inspections of particularly high-risk areas in schools, such as windows where there is a risk of falling, and safety inspections of facilities, etc. I would like to request that the conventional method be reviewed, and that the utilization of external human resources be promoted based on the actual working conditions of faculty and staff members who are responsible for safety management.
Takehisa Nakagawa, chairman of the Consumer Accident Investigation Commission, said, ``The survey revealed that children's safety at schools is not as secure as it is for workers. We have to review safety," he said.
Examples of accidents thought to be caused by school facilities and equipment
Accidents thought to have been caused by school facilities and equipment have occurred repeatedly.
In 2017, a futsal goal post collapsed at an elementary school in Fukuoka Prefecture, and a 4th grade boy was crushed to death.
In this accident, the goalposts, which were supposed to be fixed with strings, were not fixed, and safety inspections were not conducted properly.
In 2021, a wooden post installed in the schoolyard of an elementary school in Miyagi Prefecture broke and hit two nearby sixth-grade children, killing one and seriously injuring the other. .
In this accident, although monthly safety inspections were conducted, insufficient safety management, such as a lack of awareness of deterioration, was pointed out as the cause of the accident.
Efforts to utilize external personnel for safety inspections
The Consumer Investigation Investigation is requesting the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to utilize external human resources to carry out safety inspections.
According to the Consumer Accident Investigation, the strict working conditions and lack of knowledge of the faculty and staff members who conduct safety inspections have been pointed out.
Specifically, in the four months through July last year, about 40% of elementary school students and more than 50% of junior high school students worked more than 45 hours of overtime on average per month. and
In addition, in a questionnaire survey targeting public elementary and junior high schools nationwide, about 60% of the schools answered that it was difficult to spend enough time on preventing accidents, and that they lacked knowledge and experience in safety. It is said that half of the schools answered that
In light of this situation, schools and local experts are working together to prevent accidents.
One of the national qualifications, the "Child Safety Research Group" was created by volunteers who are "professional engineers" with specialized knowledge in science and technology. I started testing last year.
At Higashiyamada Junior High School in Yokohama City, which we are cooperating with, a professional engineer accompanies the safety inspections of the teachers and provides technical advice, with the cooperation of the local community.
During the inspection of the veranda of the school building that day, the engineer explained the facilities that should be focused on while listening to the school's countermeasures. Assuming a fall, I gave specific advice so that I could respond appropriately.
Schools and groups also plan to conduct questionnaire surveys targeting students, hoping to lead to accident prevention that incorporates the perspectives of students.
In addition, they are considering ways to make the safety checklist that schools currently use easier to use.
Yuki Kobayashi, the principal of Higashiyamada Junior High School, said, "Protecting the safety and security of children is the first priority, but it is difficult for teachers to find time to learn specialized knowledge from scratch. Experts check together and improve the checklist. I would like to be able to efficiently and efficiently inspect what is really necessary by getting involved in."
Mr. Kaoru Seto, a professional engineer and member of the Child Safety Research Group, said, "I think it would be good if there was a role to provide technical consultations, just like the school doctor provides health consultations. Rather than responding to them, I would like to introduce the awareness of preventing accidents from the perspective of an expert into the school."