Rabat – A primary school’s rusty entry door suddenly fell on Thursday, killing a 10-year-old girl and injuring a woman who was also standing near the door.
The woman suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized at the Sid Lahsene hospital in Temara.
The incident angered the school students’ parents and teachers who protested in front of the school to denounce the school’s condition and the director’s “negligence.”
Parents expressed their outrage over the school’s dilapidated state. They said the school’s lack of facilities, water and sanitation negatively affects students’ health and school experience.
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One example is that of a student whose father complained about her experiencing burns when urinating, likely infected by a urinary tract infection (UTI) at the school’s unhygienic toilet which is also accessible to the school’s guard dog.
The parents complained that there is no cleaner to take care of the school toilets although they pay the parents’ associations fees, collected money supposed to improve the school’s condition.
‘God’s will’
For all the complaints and outrage from parents, however, the ministry of education played down the tragedy, urging the angry parents to resign themselves to divine providence.
In a statement released on Friday, the ministry expressed “regret and sadness” over the tragic incident. It added, however, that the schoolgirl’s death “was God’s will.”
The statement pointed out that the school’s director met with the girl’s family to convey his condolences and that the ministry has sent a commission to the school to investigate the school’s situation, “take urgent measures,” and ensure that classes resume in normal conditions.
In its 2016-2017 annual report, the Moroccan Court of Auditors noted deficits in the basic facilities of some schools.
Running water, electricity, sewage, and hygienic toilets are a rare–sometimes inexistent–commodity in most schools in rural areas, according to the report.
Other missing basic infrastructure and facilities include fences, sanitary units, sports fields, multimedia rooms, libraries, internet connection, and teaching materials.
