RIYADH, 7 November 2007 — Safia Asif, a 19-year-old girl student of the Pakistan International School-Riyadh (PISR), has been released from a local hospital five weeks after being admitted there with a fractured collarbone and skull injuries allegedly inflicted by two teachers while ensuring discipline in the school.
“All necessary medical procedures and tests have been completed and hence she has been released from hospital,” hospital sources said yesterday.
“She is a bit more comfortable after leaving hospital,” said Asif Javed, Safia’s father. He thanked the PISR board of directors, who eventually paid the hospital bill after being lobbied by Safia’s relatives.
“Out of a total bill of over SR31,000, nearly SR25,000 was waived by the hospital,” said the father. The remaining SR6,000, which was incurred after Safia was shifted to a general ward, was paid by the PISR in two installments. The school, according to PISR officials, has no funds for such cases and has failed to secure insurance cover for students involving in accidents during school hours.
Javed said, “When Safia was admitted to Shomaisi Central Hospital in late September, we expected her to be released within days. But doctors said she would need to remain in hospital because they wanted to do a complete round of tests and corrective procedures.”
Meanwhile, the school management continued to defend the two teachers involved in the case — Maimoona Ahmed and Zahida Parveen. Relatives of the girl alleged that Ahmed shoved Safia which resulted in her to fall from the second floor of the school building. According to reports, Ahmed has been cleared of blame by an school investigation.
