ABU DHABI // The Ministry of Education has promised it will “not be lenient” on those to blame for the death of Aatish Sreedharan, the boy who died after he was locked for hours in a school bus.
Schools were responsible for the safety of children outside as well as inside the classroom, said the ministry. Administrators at Merryland Kindergarten, where Aatish, three, went to school, have said the school should not be held accountable for his death because the bus was run by an outside company.
The Abu Dhabi Educational Zone (ADEZ) said earlier this week that it had sent a report on the death to the ministry.
ADEZ officials said: “Dr Hanif Hassan, the Minister of Education, said his ministry would not be lenient vis-à-vis any violation and will take the appropriate action against whoever is proved responsible for the incident.
“He said that the safety of the pupils inside and outside the school is the responsibility of the school administration.”
The ministry’s rules require a supervisor to be on board buses that carry pupils to and from government and private schools.
“There will be no leniency on whoever does not respect the laws and regulations,” the ministry said.
Speaking from India, Aatish’s father, Shabin Sreedharan, described the ministry’s words as “heartening news”.
“I believe in the laws of the land. The UAE is a very strict country when it comes to such accountability of family and child.
“It is going the right way. From their side they will proceed, and from my side, I need to hear something from the school because they need to tell me what happened.”
Aatish boarded the bus on the morning of April 24 but was found in the rear of the vehicle more than three hours after he should have been dropped off at school.
The bus driver who found him said Aatish was unresponsive, and the boy was pronounced dead on arrival at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.
No autopsy was performed at the family’s request. Police said Aatish died from a heart attack due to an “unknown illness” and stated that his death was not the result of being left inside the bus. No charges have been brought against the bus driver or the bus supervisor.
In its report, ADEZ said the kindergarten had breached safety rules prior to Aatish’s death.
It said the school failed to call the boy’s parents when he did not arrive for lessons on the morning he died. No supervisor checked the bus to ensure all the children had left.
Mr Sreedharan, who said he had not heard from the school since the day his son died, said that he was happy to speak to the ministry to give his account of events.
The family is appointing lawyers to take up the case and Mr Sreedharan said he would be “happy with whatever the law says”.
“All parties should be involved in the whole process and should be answerable as to what happened. My son is dead, and whoever is responsible should put their hand up and say: ‘This is what happened’.”
Daniel Bardsley and Suryatapa Bhattacharya