"Private developers who flout safety rules and build substandard schools could face prosecution if MPs manage to bring a proposed crackdown into effect. Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker U Khin Aung Myint told the house on September 11 that building codes for school construction had to be respected. The speaker was responding to U Pe Thaung, Amyotha Hluttaw representative for constituency 6 of Kachin State, who asked what action the government would take against contractors for non-compliance with the building regulations and safety norms laid down by the Ministry of Education. U Pe Thaung said residents in his constituency were complaining about a company that had failed to comply with building regulations for three schools in the Indawgyi Lake area and Paung Laung village tract, which they said were shoddily built. ?We need tighter supervision of building works to ensure compliance with safety norms. If companies don?t follow the rules, we should take decisive action, including prosecution and blacklisting. We should not tolerate such wicked deeds,? said U Khin Aung Myint. He expressed concern that some MPs might be reluctant to take the issue further because they run construction firms. If the problem is not addressed, one option would be to give building contracts to the Ministry of Construction instead of the private sector, he said. ?Most construction companies have been founded only in the past few years, and some of them are owned by MPs and their families. This seems to make it difficult for the inspectors examining the building?s strength and quality,? he said. Deputy Minister for Education U Thant Shin said contractors ought to follow the ministry?s quality requirements and should not alter a building?s type and design at will. ?The Basic Education Department will grant permission for changing a building?s type and design only after detailed representations. We will take action against those do not comply with the regulations,? he said. In the event of public complaints about building quality, the ministry generally asked the contractor to re-build in accordance with official requirements under government supervision, he said."...