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Local schools are not only places for students to learn, they also serve as bases for disaster response. It is necessary to steadily improve the environment so that people affected by disasters, as well as children, can spend their time safely.
Due to the influence of climate change, extremely hot summers have become the norm in recent years. Even in colder regions, summer temperatures are rising, requiring schools to be equipped with cooling equipment to protect children from heatstroke.
In the past, regular classrooms of public elementary and junior high schools only had heating equipment, such as stoves and heaters, in many areas. However, an accident in July 2018, when a first-grade elementary school student in Aichi Prefecture died of heatstroke after returning to school from a field trip, led to a push to install cooling equipment in schools.
As of Sept. 1 this year, the percentage of regular classrooms with cooling equipment installed reached 99.1%. Recently, the installation of integrated equipment for cooling and heating is also spreading.
On the other hand, the percentage of gymnasiums, which are used mainly for school events and club activities, with cooling equipment installed was only 18.9%.
Local governments and other entities, which establish schools, are responsible for installing air conditioning systems at schools. However, gymnasiums have a large floor area and are not thermally efficient. Measures for thermal insulation are also necessary and cost a great deal of money.
Some local governments find it difficult to do installation work for air conditioning systems. For example, they are considering merging or closing schools due to the declining birth rate. It may be natural that many local governments have prioritized the improvement of regular classrooms, where children spend their daily lives, over that of gymnasiums.
However, many public elementary and junior high school gymnasiums are designated as evacuation centers in the event of a disaster. It is essential to take into consideration the fact that they will become places where people affected by large earthquakes and other disasters can take shelter.
The city of Hachioji in Tokyo is aiming to install cooling and heating equipment in gymnasiums in public elementary and junior high schools in the next school year. The city said some schools plan to install equipment that can be used even in the event of a power failure when a disaster takes place.
Fiscal and weather conditions differ from region to region. It cannot be said that it is realistic to promote the installation of air conditioning systems in gymnasiums uniformly throughout the country. Portable and relatively inexpensive air conditioning equipment is available. It is important to make sure that it can be procured when needed.
It is hoped that the entities that establish schools will fully consider the necessity of cooling and heating equipment, and the issues involved in installing it, among others. In doing so, it is important that their disaster prevention departments and the boards of education work closely together.
When the Nankai Trough Earthquake Extra Information was issued in August this year, there was a case in which an evacuation center was set up at a school gymnasium but was forced to close due to the risk of heatstroke because it was not equipped with cooling equipment.
The central government also should make efforts, through such means as providing fiscal support, to prevent a similar situation from happening in the event of an emergency.
