JEDDAH, 26 March — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday received the new deputy minister for girls’ education and urged him to remove everything that hamper girls’ education in the country.
Dr. Khidhr ibn Olayan Al-Qurashi was named by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd on Sunday as the new minister. The appointment came after the king ordered the merger of the 42-year-old Presidency of Girls’ Education (PGE) with the Education Ministry, and forced PGE chief Dr. Ali Al-Murshid to take early retirement.
King Fahd took action against the PGE chief after a high-level panel investigating the Makkah school fire found the presidency responsible for the accident, which killed 15 schoolgirls and wounded 52 others. They also urged action against PGE officials as well as the director of the Intermediate Girls’ School No. 31 in Makkah, where the accident took place two weeks ago.
The investigators found a schoolgirl responsible for starting the fire by stubbing out a cigarette on a pile of paper.
According to the investigation report, the school building was not suitable for educational purposes and it mentioned to this factor as one of the major reasons for the tragedy. The large numbers of students, in excess of the building’s capacity, was another.
The probe cleared the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice of any wrongdoing. There were press reports that some commission officials obstructed the rescue operation and prevented schoolgirls from getting out of the fire-hit building.
Crown Prince Abdullah is personally following up the probe and had warned he will take action against “negligent, incompetent and careless” PGE officials responsible for the appalling tragedy.
The investigation committee, led by Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, is working day and night to dig out information by interviewing teachers, parents, schoolgirls and PGE officials, as well as people living near the school. Investigators have questioned more than 60 people, including the girls, who apparently were in the habit of smoking inside the school.
Meanwhile, the new deputy minister Qurashi told Arab News that the merger of the PGE with the Education Ministry will help cut educational expenses and avoid wastage. He said a report on the condition of girls’ schools all over the Kingdom will be presented to the higher authorities so that they can take the appropriate action.
Qurashi, born in Taif, holds a doctorate degree in higher education from the Bloomington University, Indiana.
