Teachers and pupils reportedly fled in panic as the ceilings in three classrooms at a secondary school building in Riyadh's Khanshalilah District started to collapse Sunday. Teachers and pupils at the 74th Girls' School to register for the new school year said that large chunks fell from the ceilings of three adjoining classrooms, and the Girls' Education Administration has begun investigations with only days left before an expected 1,000 pupils are due to return from holiday. No one was reported injured in the incident, but parents have expressed concern and demanded thorough safety checks on the school building which is a mere three years old. One member of the teaching staff said that the incident was caused by tables being dragged across the floor in a room above. The state of girls' schools across the Kingdom has often been criticized, and many fires have been reported in recent times, notably in the Eastern Province, which have mostly been due to faults in air-conditioning units. The Director of Girls' Education Office in Ballasmar has, meanwhile, criticized contractors for failing to complete maintenance work on Dhunoob Primary School, with construction workers and large piles of building materials and equipment still at the premises. Parents have informed the local Education Administration to express their displeasure at the continuing works despite being due to finish before the original date for the beginning of the new school year on Saturday.
