Abu Dhabi: Officials from 444 registered schools in the capital received awareness lectures on child protection and negligence, the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Centre announced.
The seminars included representatives from the capital’s 189 private schools, who learnt about the procedures involved in filing a report on child abuse and negligence.
Experts also covered relevant issues such as the criminal law on child neglect and abuse.
Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), Amal Al Qubaisi, also said that providing the optimum environment for pupils from private and state schools is the main goal for Adec as these children spend many hours of their day in school premises.
“Parents place their trust in the schools they send their children to and Adec recognises this faith and is working on providing support to those in the field of education including social and psychological experts for children who get neglected and/or abused inside or outside schools,” she said.
Meanwhile, Major General Nassed Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Child Protection Services urged all caretakers and educators to carry out their duties to their utmost knowledge and to be able to identify signs of abuse and maltreatment in children.
These instructions come in light of the recent death of four year-old Nizaha Ala’a on board her Al Worood Academy Private School bus where she suffered from heat exhaustion after being locked inside the vehicle for hours.
Among the defendants being tried in the case are the school’s principal, bus attendant and school receptionist who was assigned to cross-check the names of the students who got off the bus with those who attended classes every day.
All offenders in the tragic event face charges of neglect that led to the death of the child for failure to perform their duties.
