Modular school buildings are indeed emerging as the appropriate solution for the ever-increasing demand for education, even as more and more students seek access to quality learning.
These establishments have been accepted all over the globe as a significant and practical alternative to traditional school structures made out of brick and mortar.
The reasons are not far to seek.
With increasing pressure on costly real estate, cost of construction going up and the need to assemble learning institutes quickly, there is no other way than erecting such structures.
The other advantage is their scalability.
You can ramp up capacity as well as use them as a complementary element to existing solid structures as well.
These modular school buildings can be easily erected and dismantled.
The units are brought directly from the factory to the site where the classroom has to be built.
Steel is the material that is quite commonly used in such modular buildings due to its durability, tensile strength and the fact that it can be maintained easily.
The hygiene factor is a very important element when it comes to young children and by using high grade steel; manufacturers have cleverly been able to tackle this issue.
The advantages of customisation as well as the quick and easy manner in which they can be assembled at the location of choice are other compelling reasons as to why they are becoming so popular.
The typical time taken is about six months to make the structure.
Once the final product is finished, it is sent to the site where it needs to be installed.
Heavy vehicles are used for transporting such units.
They are also popularly referred to as pre-fabricated buildings.
You may want to give any form of finish, either cement or both cement and mortar.
The greatest advantage of this form of temporary establishments is that they are sturdy and can withstand extremes of weather and climate.
They are designed, keeping in mind the vagaries of the season.
Though the above advantages are self explanatory and pretty convincing, there have also been complaints about the designs not being very neat and the finish leaving a lot to be desired.
So fabricators must take care to see that they do not allow bacteria, fungus or moisture to accumulate in the crevices.
Not only will they damage the structure but also cause hygiene problems for children.
It will also result in gross violation of health standards and regulations that have been laid down.
Despite these issues, the state authorities prefer use of such modular and make shift establishments, due to the savings in cost and also the fact that they would be able to tackle hygiene issues.
The savings can be really huge and these funds can be effectively and optimally used for other academic purposes.
Many professional agencies specialising in the fabrication and erection of such structures have come up and their inputs as well as expertise can be made use of to good effect to iron out any deficiencies.