The Minister of Education has granted principals in schools for both boys and girls the right to make necessary decisions when there are indications of bad weather such as rain storms. Principals have been authorized to send students home or to suspend classes for a few days without first writing to education authorities for approval. School officials are entrusted with the duty of creating a safe environment for students, teachers and other school personnel. This is an important responsibility as people's lives are at stake. Therefore, principals must coordinate with Civil Defense officials and monitor weather reports of the General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment for updates on weather conditions. They should also have a good grasp of the locations of their schools to be able to know if their areas will be affected by heavy rains and floods. Continuous weather assessment, in coordination with the relevant authorities, will help principals make the right decisions at the right time on whether to send children home. It should also be the schools' responsibility to call the children's parents when classes are suspended so that children can be picked up on time. If a decision to suspend classes is made before classes start, it will spare parents the inconvenience of taking their children to school. The education ministry's decision is laudable. It shows its concern for the safety of schoolchildren, teachers and other personnel which could otherwise be endangered by bureaucratic red tape. It is dangerous for anyone to be caught unawares by heavy rains and flooding and timely decisions by principals may help save the lives of children and parents. __
