Dubai, UAE: While there has been much talk in the Middle East region about improving indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in schools in the recent years, there still remain issues that need to be addressed by school managements.

Drawing attention to one such issue, Hassan Younes, Technical Director at Griffin Consultants, reveals that when the company carried out indoor air quality tests in a few schools, it realised that maintenance is a major issue in schools in the Middle East region. “For example, in some of the schools, the fresh air handling units were available, but they were shut off, with one reason being that maintenance personnel think it’s too hot outside to bring in fresh air,” he said.

To improve the IEQ situation in schools, he suggested that there be an accreditation programme for maintenance personnel.