ABU DHABI // Schools in Abu Dhabi have been ordered to alert parents by text message if their child is absent from a single class.
The new alert system, to be implemented in the next few weeks, is the latest in a raft of safety measures enforced by education chiefs since Nizaha Aalaa, 3, died after she was locked in a school bus.
Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, director general of Abu Dhabi Education Council, the schools regulator, said on Monday that breaches of school transport safety rules would not be tolerated.
Until now there has been no uniform policy for alerting parents if their child is absent from school. Al Worood Academy Private School, where the dead child was a pupil, had a policy of calling parents only on the second day of a child’s absence.
On the day Nizaha died, the day after the four-day Eid Al Adha holiday, more than half of the school’s 2,200 pupils were absent. The school has been ordered to close from next August. Five people have been charged in connection with the little girl’s death. All deny the charges, and are due in court again next week.
Parents yesterday welcomed efforts to avert such tragedies in the future.
Adec were clearly aware that “when things happen it’s not enough to say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible’,” said Beth Ann Margolis Rupp, an American expatriate with a teenager at the American Community School. “I see it over and over again … if there’s a problem, they want to address it. They’re responsive.”
Others wanted closer supervision of their children. “The school does not call us if a child is absent for only a day. They do call if it is for a couple of days,” said Danielle Nakhle, from Lebanon, whose two daughters, 5 and 9, study at Lycee Francais Theodore Monod.
“Sending a message to parents of a child who is absent in a class is very helpful for parents who have young kids, as these children can fall asleep on the bus on the way to school.”
“By informing parents through a text message, accidents can be avoided. I would feel more secure if such a measure were in place,” Ms Nakhle said.
Teachers supported the introduction of the SMS system, which was reported by Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National, although some teachers insisted safeguards were already in place.
Abdul Kader, principal of The Model School, said parents received a phone call to check up on any child who was absent from primary-school classes.
“If there is a new rule about it, we will start sending out messages,” Mr Kader said.
The American Community School also called parents when a child was absent, said principal Mike Emborsky.
“Our teachers report absences within 10 minutes of the first bell,” he said. “This is our school practice. I don’t even think it’s a policy, it’s our practice.”
Mr Emborsky said Adec’s measures should be targeted at schools that did not have proper absence policies.
“I think regulating things that happen in schools is not a bad thing. I think recognising schools who are already doing it is a better thing.”
Gems American Academy takes a register at 8am and parents are informed if their child is absent.
Throughout the day, middle and secondary school pupils have their attendance at classes recorded.
“In order for students to graduate, they need to have attended a certain number of classes in each subject,” said a spokesman.
“If Adec has made a rule that we have to send text messages for each class, then we will be implementing it.
“We believe that sharing information about a child’s attendance and progress in class with parents is good for the child.”
Adec officials were unavailable for comment.
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