JEDDAH, 19 March — Two girls’ schools in Makkah with a total of 1,196 students were saved from another fire tragedy on Sunday when the school authorities quickly evacuated the buildings after two electricity short circuits at the school complex.
Ibtihaj Hasan Ulfy, director of the Primary Girls’ School No. 17 in Makkah, ordered the evacuation of students soon after finding the short circuits in a bid to prevent a repeat of last week’s school fire tragedy, in which 15 schoolgirls perished and 52 others injured.
The school director also informed parents of the incident and urged them to take their children back home. The two schools will not be opening today, as they are undergoing a thorough check by the Civil Defense officers to ensure safety measures are in place. The evacuation was carried out at about 10 a.m.
The Intermediate Girls’ School No. 24, which operates in the same building, also witnessed an electricity short circuit, in the teachers’ room.
The primary school has 573 students and 36 teachers and administrators, while the intermediate school has 623 students and 47 teachers and administrators.
Two Civil Defense rescue units and three Red Crescent Society teams rushed to the school on hearing the news. Two medical teams sent by the health department also took part in the operation. A number of police officers were present to control the traffic.
Last week’s school fire tragedy has triggered a nationwide campaign against unsafe school buildings. A committee has been set up in Riyadh to check the security situation of all schools in the region. According to a report published by Al-Watan daily yesterday, all schools in the Fursan governorate are housed in rented buildings.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Saad Al-Tuwaijeri, director of Civil Defense, told Al-Watan that his organization would provide training to 4,000 female teachers on the evacuation and management of accidents.
He said the training programs will start by the middle of next month. Training will be provided through close-circuit television installed at women’s charitable societies across the country, he explained.
The department has also started implementing a new program named "Friends of Safety", under which 15 Saudi women working at education departments in different regions are being given training on safety measures. They will be trained in the presence of their husbands or close relatives.
These women are expected to train female teachers working for the Presidency of Girls’ Education.
The new system will be initially implemented in three schools in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
