They warned the old rented building in Al-Shatba district their daughters are being taught in might collapse unless authorities move quickly.
The parents told Arab News that they filed a number of complaints to the Department of Education in Taif about the state of the facilities at the 46th Elementary School for Girls, but nothing has been done.
“Nothing has changed despite the numerous promises of the department,” one of the parents said.
The five-story building accommodates 300 girls and also houses the 9th Qur'an Memorization School.
The classrooms are very small and power cuts are frequent as the electrical wiring is very old.
Due to bad welding, bad smells emanate from the bathrooms and water taps. The staircase is very enclosed, so there are fears of stampedes in case of an emergency.
“It is useless trying to repair or refurbish the building. It has to be demolished and rebuilt,” said Muqham Al-Rouki, a father of two students.
He said education officials were well aware of the problem but have not done anything to solve it.
“If any one of these officials has a girl in the school, the situation would not have remained unresolved,” he said.
Al-Rouki said because of the repeated power cuts, all the air-conditioners broke down last summer and the students had to learn all their lessons in the unbearable heat.
“For two weeks now there has been no electricity in the school. The old building may collapse any time. Can anybody do anything?” he asked.
Abdul Mohsen Al-Mitairi, who was waiting for his daughters to come out at the end of a school day, said parents should not keep silent about the bad condition of the school.
“The building may collapse any moment and we are sitting idle watching,” he said.
A woman teacher, who did not want her name to be published, said because of the small size of the building, even the kitchens had been converted into classrooms.
“There are no air-conditioners or ventilation fans. The classrooms are small and the glass windows broken. This is not a place for education,” she added.
The anonymous teacher said as there was no courtyard where the students can spend their recess time or breaks, the head mistress gave them the underground level to use, which also houses the school cafeteria.
She also pointed out that the sewage tanks were left without covers, thus endangering the health of students. “This catastrophe may be closer than everybody thinks. Something has to be done to save our lives and the lives of students,” the teacher said.
Fellow teacher Khlood Al-Otaibi told Arab News that the director of girls’ education in Taif, Salim bin Hilal Al-Zahrani, had promised there would not be any rented school buildings from the beginning of this year.
According to her, the director reportedly said 20 new school projects worth SR83 million would be completed by the start of the new academic year, while 62 other projects costing a total of SR289 million would be ready early next year.
“The deadline has passed. There are no buildings. We only have empty promises,” she said.
A father, who did not want to be identified, claimed the school building must be owned by a senior official at the department of education who was making money from its rent, otherwise it would have been demolished by now.
The parents said they were determined to escalate the issue as far as possible until a solution was found. “A disaster is fast approaching, while the education officials in the city are not moving a finger,” one of them said.
Girls’ school in Taif on verge of collapse
Publication Date:
Fri, 2010-11-05 01:53
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