Crumbling Schools

Even though it has faced some tough financial times, The Christian Science Monitor still produces some of the best international coverage of any newspaper in the country. Monday's edition is no exception. It features "The Pakistan quake: Why 10,000 schools collapsed" by David Montero, which examines the reasons behind the deaths of 17,000 school children during last month's horrible earthquake. Montero cites evidence that extensive government corruption in Pakistan led officials to cut corners when constructing their schools, leading to shoddy buildings that collapsed once the ground trembled. Full disclosure: the Monitor ran my first newspaper story more than 15 years ago, which may account for some of my fondness for it.
www.csmonitor.com/2005/1108/p01s03-wosc.html