Safety check

Urgent MPs’ proposal for schools to contact parents when child misses class

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Urgent proposal before Parliament would require the Ministry of Education to make every kindergarten and all public and private schools contact parents immediately when a child is absent.

It is filed under Article 68 of the Constitution and Article 128 of the Council of Representatives’ Rules of Procedure.

The request follows a case reported on Monday in which a four-and-a-half-year-old boy, Hassan Ali Al Mahari, died after being left inside a vehicle that took children to a kindergarten in the Damistan housing area.

Death

The Interior Ministry said Northern Governorate Police received a report of a child’s death inside a vehicle not licensed to carry pupils; the 40-year-old driver was detained and the Public Prosecution notified.

A relative said the boy boarded the vehicle in the morning but fell asleep en route.

After dropping the children and locking the doors, the driver did not realise he was still inside.

Unconscious

Later, when his absence was queried, she returned to the vehicle, found him unconscious and called an ambulance.

He was taken to the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital and pronounced dead due to severe heat stress.

The proposal states that same-day contact with guardians on non-attendance would improve safety and keep parents informed during the school day.

Direct contact

An explanatory note says the measure aims to prevent similar cases by making direct contact with parents a standing duty whenever a pupil does not arrive.

Sponsors are MPs Abdulhakeem Al Sheno, Jameel Mulla Hasan, Hesham Al Awadhi, Eman Shuwaiter and Dr Maryam Al Dhaen.

Further details on school procedures and any follow-up by the education authorities are expected when Parliament considers the request.