Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Police are investigating the collapse of a sunshade at Al-Reesh secondary school in Mahayil Asir and the death of a girl student in the incident caused by the negligence of authorities. The Education Ministry has acknowledged that there was negligence on the part of concerned officials in terms of ensuring safety of students and teachers at the school. The ministry stressed the importance of conducting maintenance works at all schools at the end of the academic year to avoid such accidents. The school management should take part of the responsibility for not carrying out necessary maintenance and repair works before the reopening of schools after summer vacation. In a related development, women directors of girls' schools in Jeddah have called upon the ministry to respond quickly to maintenance requirements and not to delay such works citing various reasons, in order to avoid unhappy incidents. "We have presented maintenance requests very early giving the ministry enough time to take action," one director told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. She urged the ministry to simplify maintenance procedures. Nadiya Fetaihi, owner of a private school in Jeddah, said municipality's procedures were obstructing maintenance and renovation works of schools. "Some procedures make maintenance impossible," she added. Fetaihi said she had completed all the requirements for converting a home into a school and municipality officials visited the school several times to make sure that the conditions have been fulfilled. "As a result of complicated municipality procedures the maintenance works are being delayed." Fatma Al-Otaibi, director of a primary school, said the education department is not keen on providing quality maintenance of schools that have been constructed fulfilling the ministry's conditions. "Some school buildings were constructed more than 12 years ago and they complain about bad plumbing and electric works," she said. Ameena Mohammed, director of an intermediate school, attributed the accidents in schools to poor maintenance and negligence of officials to follow-up condition of buildings and facilities. Experts should be appointed to check engineering defects and cracks on buildings to avoid deadly accidents, she said. Olya Al-Malki, another school director, proposed the appointment of a maintenance officer for every three schools to speed up maintenance works and create jobs for Saudis.
