Abu Dhabi school bus tragedy: School, transport firm trade charges over student’s death

Abu Dhabi-based Al Worood private school and a transport company traded charges just a day after four-year-old Indian school girl Naziha was found dead inside the school bus after falling asleep for several hours.

The school said it was not responsible for the child’s death since the incident took place outside its premises but the transport company operating the school buses insisted Al Worood is also guilty for its improper supervision of students in the buses.

Emarat Al Youm daily said the case has been referred to the prosecutor in the capital and quoted Naziha’s family as saying they would prosecute all those responsible for the death of their daughter on Tuesday.

The paper also quoted the Abu Dhabi Education Council as implicitly indicting the school by saying it had warned its management many times to upgrade its services. The report said the school had been rated within the “C” category in terms of performance, adding that the school lacked proper measures to look after its students and provide a safe environment for them besides other negative practices.

“The council has opened an investigation into Naziha’s case to determine responsibility for her death and take the necessary measures in coordination with the other concerned parties in order to prevent the repetition of similar incidents,” it said.

The paper quoted Al Worood’s deputy principal Muna Al Ansari as defending her school on the grounds Naziha died outside its premises.

She blamed the transport firm and criticized the Education Council for failing to respond to its “scores” of requests to change that firm.

Naziha’s father Nazeer Ahmed said his wife remained in a shock and that he prays for her to recover so she would look after their other two-year-old daughter.

“We are waiting for the family to recover from their shock to go ahead with a legal case against all those responsible for our daughter’s death…the mother is still in a state of shock and still sits waiting for her daughter to return home from school,” Naziha’s uncle said, quoted by Emarat Al Youm.