JEDDAH, 19 March — It is not that only girls’ schools are housed in rented buildings — this is a serious problem with the boys’ schools as well. There are approximately 200 rented schools for boys in the Jeddah region run by Ministry of Education (MOE), most of which also lack basic safety equipment, according to Saeed Ba-Hubail, director of projects and maintenance at the MOE.
Security and maintenance authorities privately grumble about the scarcity of maintenance teams. Only eight are at hand to cover more the 200 rented schools in Jeddah, said Ba-Hubail, who reports to the education office of the area about fire or emergency equipment in the schools.
The individual most responsible for safety and security in any school is the principal. There is a plan to introduce two fire drills every year in each school, in collaboration with the Civil Defense. This plan will cover all the schools, Ba-Hubail said, adding that the cooperation of the Civil Defense members and authorities can be assured, as they already hold lectures on safety regulations at schools.
On visiting some rented boys’ schools in Jeddah, Arab News found poor safety and security arrangements.
Maher Al-Najjar, an intermediate English teacher at one rented school, admitted that there are no fire extinguishers in the building, despite the fact that it contains chemistry and physics labs.
Many schools in south Jeddah are located on narrow, inaccessible streets. Ahmad Moharraq, a teacher at Al-Waleed ibn Abdul Malek intermediate school in Ghulail district, said that he can hardly find a place to park his car. "So how could a fire engine get to the school in case of an emergency?" he asked.
Mohammad Khalid, the father of two students at a rented secondary school in north Jeddah, has been trying in vain to contact the authorities at the MOE and security departments.
"They have simply ignored my complaints about the lack of safety measures at my sons’ school. There are no emergency exits and live electric cables are exposed in the bathroom. I have complained many times on the telephone and fax to the security unit and the projects department at the MOE, but there has been no reply," he said.
