Comparison of the Safety Levels of Governmental and Non-Governmental Schools: Study in Yazd City, Iran, 2009

The school environment is an environment wherein a student spends one third of his life with teachers and other students. In the present study, the safety levels of governmental and non-governmental schools were studied and compared. In a descriptive cross-sectional study we assessed schools safety using Fire and Life Safety Inspection Checklist presented by the National Fire Prevention Agency (NFPA). After determining the sample size using simple random sampling, 35 high schools of Yazd of which 21 were governmental and 14 were non-governmental schools were selected. Evaluation of the data was done using SPSS V.17.0 software program. The results showed that the highest coefficient of safety in the schools of Yazd was related to air conditioning systems, while the lowest coefficients were related to the electrical and fire safety. Also, the mean electrical and fire safety scores were higher in thenongovernmental schools as compared to the governmental schools (p < 0.01). Safety coefficients of all departments were higher in the non-governmental schools as compared to the governmental schools. Considering the results of the study, it is both essential and critical to pay greater attention to the process of reconstruction, repair, maintenance and building of new schools according to international safety standards in order to have a safe school environment that requires the attention of all those responsible in the education department.