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Girl ‘made to stand in sun for 7 hours’ for inability to pay fees!

ABU DHABI — A top level intervention has speeded up an official inquiry into the case of a sixth grade girl who allegedly had to bear the brunt of her parent's inability to pay the fees when she was forced to stand in the sun for almost seven hours at school, Khaleej Times has learnt.

"The minister of education has asked for a report on the complaint filed by the girl's parents. A committee visited the school yesterday and we are preparing a detailed report, which will be sent to his office today," Mohammed Salim Al Dhahiri, Director of the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone, told this reporter yesterday.

Parents claim that eleven-year-old Malak was hospitalised as she developed high fever and dehydration symptoms after the Lebanese International School subjected their daughter to such crude punishment for being late in paying the fees

Nariman Abdul Hameed, mother of Malak, has opened a police case against the school for the physical and mental harassment meted out to her daughter.

A written complaint has also been filed at the Ministry of Education, it has been learned.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Wael Aidrouse, stepfather of the girl, said the school resorted to such extreme measure despite his repeated assurance to the management that they will pay the fees for their two children before the close of the academic year.

"My wife had personally called upon the school principal several times explaining our difficulty in paying the fees for the time being due to some financial crisis. However, we had promised to settle the amount as soon as we can," said Aidrouse.

Narrating the incident, he said that his wife came to know about Malak when one of her classmates called home on Tuesday afternoon to inform that their daughter has been asked to stand under the sun from morning. "When we rushed to her school, we could not believe our eyes. Malak was in a terrible condition, she was looking pale and tired. It is so hot these days that you won't be able to bear the sun even for an hour. Imagine a little girl standing under the sun from 8.15am to 2.30 in the afternoon," said Aidrouse.

"We lost our temper and picked up a fight with the school management, and there ensued a scuffle when other teachers also intervened. The police was called and we were made to give in writing that we will never approach the school directly," he explained.

The aggrieved party also alleged that after coming home Malak developed high fever and dehydration symptoms and was taken to hospital that night. "She was on drips until 3 o'clock next morning. She is fine now but is still scared and refuses to go to school again."

According to Aidrouse, the school had sent a notice a week before asking not to send the children to school until their fees are paid. "But we did send them because the school has no right to deny them education on the grounds that their parents did not pay the fees."

When the question was posed, a ministry official said that as per the bylaws the school should withhold the student's results if parents are unable to pay the fees. "It is against law to deny children the right to attend classes, sit for exams or met out any kind of punishment on that ground," clarified the official.

SCHOOL’S VERSION

ABU DHABI — When Khaleej Times contacted the school for its version on the complaint, a school official who identified himself as the principal, threatened to take the reporter to court if the issue was reported and made public.

Dismissing the allegation as baseless, he said, "No, it is wrong to claim that we punished Malak. Why should we take it out on the girl? It is between us and the parents."