School faces closure after girl’s beating

The school where 11-year-old Loujain Hussain was critically injured by fellow students last month may face closure, said the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) in an official statement. “If findings show that any school failed to provide the required type of monitoring, inspection, safety and security, the Adec has the right to take all necessary steps as stipulated in the current laws and regulations and it may get to the closure of such (a) school according to the magnitude of the violation committed by its management,” read the statement. Al Maali International School, where Loujain was a student, is currently under investigation by the council for negligence, and health and safety violations that may have led to her getting injured. Seventh grader Loujain remains in the hospital, recovering from a brain surgery she underwent after the incident. The case also involves an investigation by the Abu Dhabi Police and the judicial system. Information pertaining to the four minors who allegedly assaulted Loujain will not be released until the police have finished gathering evidence. Loujain suffered the injuries on April 19 when she accidentally bumped into a boy in the fourth grade who then pushed her back. When she retaliated, three other boys from his class joined the fray. They pushed her down and took turns kicking her in the head and stomach. She blacked out before receiving first aid from the school. She then started to vomit and sweat heavily. The school called her father who took her home. At home, the girl vomited again, prompting her father to rush her to the hospital where a scan showed that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage. Loujain underwent a six-hour surgery on April 22 to remove blood clotted inside her brain. She remains under medical supervision.