The investigation began Tuesday when prosecutors were notified of a child’s death inside a school, located in the Giza governorate. The truck driver drove into school to provide it with food supplies.
While reversing to leave the school, the driver ran over the child, leading to his death. The Ministry of Education said, in a statement, that another student was injured during the incident.
The prosecution’s statement said the truck’s driver confessed. The driver added he regularly drove into the school to deliver food supplies, and that on this occasion, there was a technical malfunction in his brakes.
The school principal said during investigations that there are no regulations or administrative instructions that ban the entrance of cars onto school grounds.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Hany Kamal said a security manual, which stipulates that cars are not allowed on school grounds, is distributed to all schools. Kamal added that this incident took place in violation of the ministry’s security and safety instructions.
The prosecution ordered the detention of the school principal, nutrition supervisor and the security supervisor who was responsible for allowing the truck into the school. The three school officials have been charged with not adhering to regulations.
The education ministry has also ordered the suspension of the school principal, the security supervisor and the director of education in Atfih, where the school is located, for three months for “negligence”.
This is the second incident of a school death inside a school premise in less than a week.
On Sunday, another elementary school student was killed in Matruh governorate when the school gate fell on him.
A live television show airing a report on the student’s death was cut short on Sunday night, sparking the condemnation of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). The NGO called on authorities to carry out a quick investigation into the cut-off of the show.
Last week, a 9 year-old elementary school student was killed in Matariya, Cairo, after glass from a school window fell on his neck inflicting internal bleeding and laceration of the blood vessels, state run Al-Ahram reported.
