A school entrance was flooded and parents had to build a makeshift pathway for students to tread on. Eid Al-Fihmi said the street in front of 81 Primary School has been flooding sewage water for more than two years. "The school is in east of Jeddah in the girls school complex in Al-Masaed District on Ferman Street. The parents brought in several wooden boxes and set up a path for the students to walk on so they can get to the gate," a local daily quoted Al-Fihmi as saying. He added parents began threatening the school by claiming not to bring their daughters to school in the form of protest. "The parents claim that the Education Directorate and the National Water Company (NWC) are both not cooperating with them. The parents are also concerned about the safety of their daughters. The sewage water attracts pests and insects which could spread diseases and be harmful to their daughters," said Al-Fihmi. He added many of the parents feel there should be action against the authorities for their wanton negligence. "The parents claim they have filed multiple complaints but without any response. The problem of overflowing sewage water has existed for more than two years. The NWC did not put any permanent solution to it and the Education Directorate did not come up with a solution to the problem either," said Al-Fihmi. Mousa Asiri said people had to work with the janitor to make bridge of wooden cartons to allow students to walk through. Abdullah Mohammad said if the daughter of one of the officials at the municipality or NWC was a student at the school the problem would have been solved the next day. "The solution is simple. The water company needs to vacuum the water. The entrance of the school looks ridiculous. Our daughters deserve better than this," said Mohammad. Sitair Al-Harby said the entrance of the school looks disgusting. "The sewage water overflow is affecting all of the schools near 81 Primary School. It is affecting 81 Primary School, 81 Middle School, 81 High School and 31 High School. The directorate has no excuse in ignoring the issue and allowing students to come to school under such unsanitary conditions," said Al-Harby. Mohammad Asiri said after seeing the unsanitary condition in front of the school he refused to take his daughter to school. "There was rain and floods a few days ago. The water was overflowing right in front of the entrance of the school. There must be a solution to this problem. I don't feel safe taking my daughter to school," said Asiri.
