DUBAI / SHARJAH - The Ministry of Education (MoE) has referred the headmistress of Ashbilia Preparatory School in Sharjah for interrogation for giving statements on October 23 to two local dailies, about the condition of the school building.
In the statements, she regretted the condition of the dilapidated facility, saying it was dangerous for the 600 students.
The school headmistress was transferred to the school by the educational zone.
The MoE were in for a shock when the headlines about Ashbilia School quoting the headmistress was splashed on the two dailies.
The news naturally shocked the students and the parents as well.
Rashid Al Nuaimi, MoE director general, told the Khaleej Times that the headmistress’s statements were untrue.
As soon as the news was out, he directed the school buildings department to set up a fact-finding committee in coordination with the Ministry of Public Works.
He said: “Decisive action should be taken to stop such happenings.”
He said the federal cabinet has a spokesperson for each ministry to act as the communication channel with the media in order to ensure transparency and credibility.
The school headmistress however denied in a telephone conversation saying: “I didn’t see the male correspondent of the paper (A.K.) and that he didn’t even call her. I didn’t know him before. How did he quote me.”
About the other female journalist at (A.B), she said: “I didn’t utter a word to her.”
Upon reading the news, she went on to say that she hurried to contact a prominent member of the Sharjah Educational Council to deny the reports.
She also denied the statements before the investigator of the educational zone and expressed her readiness to appear before a ministry interrogation panel.
The legal affairs department has asked the educational zone to provide it with a copy of the published statements and also evidence to the claim that the headmistress spent money on the maintenance of the school.
The director of the Sharjah Educational Zone, Fuzya Garib, declined to comment, saying: She trusts the justice of the committee and the integrity of the MoE.”
Mohsen Rashid