Supreme Court Petition Demanding Repairs to Arab Elementary School in Akka to Remove Serious Health and Safety Hazards

On 7 February 2006, Adalah submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel demanding that the Court compel the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Municipality of Akka (Akko) to remedy all of the safety hazards at the “el-Manara” Arab elementary school in Akka, in accordance with their legal obligations. The petition was filed by Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker on behalf of the school's Parents' Committee, a number of the school's pupils, a member of the Akka Municipality, the el-Yater organization for cultural development in Akka, and in Adalah's own name.

The el-Manara school currently has an enrollment of 670 children. Although it was established as recently as 2004, the school nevertheless suffers from a large number of safety and environmental defects and damage. Adalah argued in the petition that these defects must be repaired immediately in order to remove the dangers they pose dangers to the lives of the pupils of the school. As Adalah emphasized, the Akka Municipality has previously acknowledged the health hazards at the school, and the MOE has also made several commitments to investigate and deal with the issue.

Contrary to the MOE's own regulations, for example, there are no drinking water fountains in the school. The lack of available drinking water in the school's playgrounds and halls forces the children to drink from water faucets in the school's small toilets. As a result, the toilets are often overcrowded, which endangers the children's health. The MOE has previously warned the Municipality of Akka specifically about the health hazards associated with the restriction of drinking water to toilet facilities. In response, however, the Municipality merely pledged to the school's Parents' Committee, which has made many inquiries regarding health and safety issues at the school, to provide drinking water fountains, but has yet to take any action.

As detailed in the petition, the school's playgrounds present further serious hazards. In addition to the lack of shaded areas, the ground is slippery and completely unsafe. In a report prepared by Ms. Fatina Nasrallah, an expert in health and safety issue in educational establishments, 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.

Further, the area through which the pupils enter and leave the school is also used as a car park for teachers from el-Manara and neighboring schools, again in breach of the MOE's regulations. This arrangement threatens the safety of the children when they enter and leave the school, particularly early in the morning before the start of school and in the afternoon after lessons have finished. The entryway is also used by over a thousand pupils from neighboring schools, which further exacerbates the dangerousness of the situation.

In the petition, Adalah argued that the Municipality of Akka and the MOE's shortcomings and failure to fulfill their legal obligations and commitments violate the children's basic constitutional rights to education, health, bodily integrity and dignity. The petitioners therefore demanded that the Municipality and the MOE undertake the necessary repairs immediately in order to allow the children to attend school in a safe and secure environment. A hearing on the petition has been scheduled on 29 March 2006.

H.C. 1203/06, The el-Manara School's Parents' Committee, et. al. v. the Municipality of Akka, et. al. (case pending)