Supreme Court Orders Education Ministry and Akka Municipality to Repair all Safety Hazards in Arab Elementary School in Akka

On 29 March 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing on a petition submitted by Adalah and the “el-Manara” elementary school Parents' Committee against the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Municipality of Akka (Akko) regarding safety hazards at the Arab school in Akka. After hearing the parties' arguments, the Court found that the petitioners' facts concerning the existence of numerous safety hazards at the school to be true and ordered the Municipality to complete all repairs within three months.

Filed on 7 February 2006 by Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker, the petition demanded that the Supreme Court oblige the MOE and the Municipality of Akka to work, in accordance with their legal duties, to remedy all safety hazards at the elementary school. In addition to Adalah and the parents' committee, the petitioners included a number of the school's pupils, a member of the Akka Municipality, and the el-Yater organization for cultural development in Akka.

Following the submission of the petition, the Municipality undertook some repairs, but did so in a partial and inadequate manner. The written response of the Municipality and the MOE to the petition revealed that they had appointed experts to investigate safety concerns at the school, and that the experts concurred with almost all of the petitioners' arguments. Approximately 670 children are enrolled in the el-Manara school, which opened in 2004. Nevertheless, the school has a large number of safety and environmental defects, which pose dangers to pupils' lives and require immediate repair.

Contrary to the MOE's own regulations, for example, there are no drinking water fountains in the school's halls and playgrounds, which force the children to drink from water faucets in the school's small toilets. As a result, the toilets are often very overcrowded. After the petition was filed, the Municipality installed two water fountains at one of the entrances to the school. However, these fountains also present a danger to the children according to a report from the MOE.

In addition, the school's playgrounds lack shaded areas and the ground is slippery and completely unsafe. According to a report prepared by Ms. Fatina Nasrallah, an expert in health and safety issues in schools, which was included in the petition, the safety hazards in the school's play areas are serious, and children must not be allowed to use them until they are repaired. The Municipality committed itself to cover part of the playgrounds, but have not announced news of such work to date.

Further, the entry and exit area to the school is also used as a car park for teachers in breach of the MOE's regulations. The entryway is also used by over 1,000 pupils from neighboring schools, which further exacerbates the dangerous situation. After the filing of the petition, the Municipality prevented cars from entering the area by placing a number of stones in their way. However, Adalah challenged this solution before the Court, arguing that cars are still parked in the entryway and continue to pose a threat to the pupils' safety. Therefore, Adalah contended that a structural, permanent and considered solution, which completely separates the pupils from the cars and guarantees a prepared pathway for their use needs to be found.