Abu Dhabi: The body of Nizah Aalaa, a KG-1 pupil who died after allegedly being left locked inside her school bus on Tuesday, will be buried on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. Her death certificate cited the cause of death as “suffocation”, her family members told Gulf News yesterday.
A school official said a female attendant was found negligent in the incident. She and the bus driver were taken into custody by the police, she said.
Sources told Gulf News that the two suspects were produced before the public prosecution on Wednesday. Several other school staff members were also questioned by the public prosecution. However, no official comments were available.
Meanwhile Aalaa’s father Naseer Ahmad said he was not notified by the Al Worood Academy Private School about the absence of his child on Tuesday morning. “We got the first call from the school only at 12:40pm.”
The Emirate’s school regulator Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) rules require schools to notify parents about absence of their children.
In its previous round of private school inspections last year, Adec officials had judged Al Worood Academy Private School as ‘very unsatisfactory’ and in need of significant improvement (B and C, Grade 7). One of the concerns highlighted was the lack of a child protection policy at the institution. The school was not available for comments.
