KUWAIT CITY, Feb 27: The Ministry of Education had asked the Environment Public Authority to remove big trees that affect the safety of facilities, sanitation, air conditioning and electricity units in about 120 educational facilities, including kindergartens and schools at all levels and departments in the Hawalli educational district, reports Al-Qabas daily. Informed sources said the Ministry of Education has sent a letter to the Environment Public Authority informing it of the names of educational areas that may cause inconvenience to the facilities due to the presence of huge trees, such as Conocarpus, Sidr, Eucalyptus and Salam, indicating that their trunks, deep roots and sprawling branches affect the safety of the facilities. The sources confirmed that the diameter of some trees exceeds 120 cm, and directly affects the safety of the facilities, especially the air-conditioning and sewage units and power transformers in Ministry of Education facilities, and that the roots of the Conocarpus and Sidr trees have disrupted the sewage system and clogged manholes, which represents a danger to the students.

The sources pointed to large and sprawling branches that directly affect the fences, sheds, and corridors between buildings, and cause direct danger to the school and students, in addition to the dry leaves and shrubs that are a source of insects, pests, rodents, and even can cause fires. The ministry also confirmed the impact of large trees of the Conocarpus species in the vicinity of schools and outside the walls, which directly affect the rainwater drainage system around kindergartens, schools and buildings in the Hawalli educational district, and the dense branches affecting sheds inside the school.

The sources stressed the importance of doing the necessary work by removing, cutting and pruning trees affecting the safety of the facilities, pointing out that the EPA had previously agreed to pruning and removing 8 conocarpus trees near the guest house of Al-Jahiz secondary school in Dasma, after obtaining approval from the PAAAFR and under its supervision.