Qatar shuts kindergarten over 4-year-old Indian girl's death

Agencies | Doha

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Ministry of Education in Qatar has ordered the shutting down of the Spring Field kindergarten school in Al Wakrah after its investigation found glaring lapses on the part of the institution led to the death of a four-year-old Minsa Mariam Jacob.

Minsa, whose parents hail from Kerala, was found dead on her birthday inside her school bus on Sunday, September 11. According to reports, the four-year-old was left alone inside a locked school bus for over four hours. She died due to exposure to severe heat.

According to a relative, Minsa had taken the school bus on Sunday morning. However, she fell asleep in the bus, and the bus staff failed to notice her. The little girl was trapped inside the vehicle parked in the open without ventilation. That day, the temperature in Al Wakra hovered around 43 degree Celsius.

The bus staff returned to the vehicle when the classes were over in the afternoon. They found Minsa lying unconscious and rushed her to the nearby hospital. However, the four-year-old could not be saved.

Qatar's Ministry of Education had ordered a probe into the incident and assured that 'necessary measures, as well as maximum punishment', would be handed out to those responsible for the incident. The investigation conducted by the Ministry revealed that the school staff had failed to follow due protocol. Besides ordering the kindergarten to be shut down, the ministry also sought strict action against defaulting school bus employees. Three bus staff members were arrested.

Meanwhile, Minsa's mortal remains arrived at the Cochin International Airport today. The four-year-old was the youngest daughter of Abhilash Chacko and Soumya. Her sister, Meekha Maryam Jacob, studies in Class II at the MES Indian School.