4-Year-Old Emirati Girl Forgotten On School Bus By Staff: ”Lucky To Get Our Child Alive”

A four-year-old girl in Sharjah was left alone on the school bus after the staff forgot to drop her off. According to the Khaleej Times, the girl, who fell asleep, was discovered crying by the bus conductor during the second trip taken by the bus for boys. The girl was on the bus from 6 to 8:40 am and later became ill, following which she was taken to a hospital for a check-up. 

Fortunately, the girl survived without any harm. However, the girl’s mother is now advising other parents to stay vigilant and regularly talk to bus drivers and conductors regarding their child’s safety. 

”At 7:30 am, the conductor called to inform me that my child fell asleep, was left behind on the bus, and couldn’t reach the classroom. I told him to immediately drop her home, but he didn’t. It was only when I called her teacher that she came to know about the incident. We rushed to the school by 8.15 am, but my daughter hadn’t reached the classroom or school yet,” the girl’s mother recalled the incident. 

“My daughter said her head banged against the front seat. And as she woke up, there were all the big students, i.e., boys and senior students of the second trip. It was only when she started crying that the conductor realised she was left inside and then called me,” she added. 

The girl’s parents have now withdrawn her from the school and complained to the local authorities, complaining that the staff downplayed it as a minor incident. 

“I can’t find the heart to send her to school until she is a bit older to look after herself. I have studied in the same school, but I never expected my daughter to be treated this way. Our trust has been broken. We are lucky to get our child alive; I pray no other parents and child undergo such a miserable situation,” the woman further said. 

In the past, there have been several such cases of carelessness wherein children have suffocated to death or fell ill after being left behind in school buses or private vehicles.