مؤسسة الشرق الأوسط للنشر العلمي
عادةً ما يتم الرد في غضون خمس دقائق
Abstract
Educational-infrastructure
planning can overlook inequalities in the physical condition and safety of
existing schools when provision is assessed mainly through school counts. This
study examines the impact of national spatial inequalities in the condition and
safety of public-school facilities in Saudi Arabi. For the study approach,
there is a cross-sectional secondary analysis was conducted using 13,045
facility assessments covering all 13 regions and 149 governorates as the study
population. The survey-derived building-quality score was analyzed alongside
five original safety and condition domains, while multilevel and spatial
analyses assessed geographic variation. The national mean building-quality
score was 38.5 (SD 11.3), with regional means ranging from 32.5 to 39.8.
Governorate means were spatially clustered, and rural facilities scored 2.54
points below urban facilities before adjustment; the difference attenuated to
0.23 points after building age and size were considered. The study highlighted
a number of findings, the most important of which are the national mean survey-derived
building-quality score was 38.5, with substantial variation among regions and
governorates. As well, governorate mean condition scores showed significant
positive spatial clustering. The study put forward several important
recommendations, most notably the necessity of Establish a national, auditable
school-asset register containing inspection dates, instrument versions,
component ratings, evidence, remedial priorities, costs, work-order status, and
reinspection outcomes. In addition, the study recommends prioritizing
independent verification and rapid corrective action for facilities carrying
severe life-safety survey ratings, particularly emergency exits and fire-pump
systems.