Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The Education Directorate has relieved the principal of Al-Aqsa School and penalized him for the incident of Nawaf Al-Silmy, the boy left unattended in the school bus and died of suffocation.
Jeddah Education Directorate spokesman Abdulmajeed Al-Ghamdi said the investigative committee that looked into the death of Nawaf consisted of the director of private schools at the Education Affairs Directorate, director of safety and security, director of education in Al-Naseem District, a representative from the school transportation department, a representative from the follow up committee and a representative from the legal affairs department.
“The committee concluded that the bus driver was negligent. He should have checked the bus after the students dismounted to ensure that no student was left behind.
“The driver knows the bus has young students who are in need of an adult supervision and Nawaf was not hard to spot as he was sitting right behind the driver,” said Al-Ghamdi.
He added the committee held the school responsible for negligence as well as they did not follow up on the absence of the student.
“The school should have followed the protocols of the Ministry of Education when it comes to the absence of a child. The school has not searched for the student in the bus and has not notified the parents as it should have,” said Al-Ghamdi.
The spokesman added the committee also held the school responsible for training and hiring the school bus drivers.
“The committee transferred the school principal to the School Principals Committee under the directorate to complete the process of relieving him from his post. The rest of the administrative staff at the school was also penalized according to the directorate’s rules and regulations. The case file was submitted to Jeddah governor and the minister of education for review,” said Al-Ghamdi.
He also said the committee has recommended that all education directorates should reevaluate their safety and security regulations.
“Schools began signing agreements with drivers to say that if anything happened the driver is responsible and not the school. Schools are also updating their field safety plans and training drivers to always check the bus after parking,” said Al-Ghamdi. He also said school bus drivers must be licensed by the Ministry of Education. Licenses are issued through the education directorates after the driver goes through a test.
“All school bus trips will now include a supervisor from the school. The safety and security of the students is paramount to the directorate,” said Al-Ghamdi.
Turki Al-Harbi said he drives his son to and from school fearing the negligence of the schools will one day harm his son.
“Students found dead and abandoned in school buses has happened several times throughout the years. We pay the school to keep our children safe. How do you expect me to sleep at night if one day I may wake up to find my child was found dead in school,” said Al-Harbi.
