Crown Prince, in phone call with education minister, inquires about student Humaidi's case

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein made a phone call on Wednesday with Minister of Education Azmi Mahafzah to inquire about the case of student Mohammad Humaidi, who is recovering from burns he sustained inside one of the public schools. 

During the call, His Royal Highness expressed his confidence in the fair and impartial judiciary, which is handling the case, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The Crown Prince also directed that the ministry take the necessary measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again and to provide a safe educational environment for students, Petra said. 

He also emphasised that he would continue to follow up on the measures the ministry will take to enhance public safety at schools.

In remarks to Petra on Wednesday, Mahafzah said that the incident of the student burned by his peers in one of the schools is "strange and reprehensible and it has never occurred in the history of our Jordanian schools."

The minister emphasized that the incident reflects negligence on the part of some school staff, as such dangerous materials should not be within the students' reach. "They must be stored in a safe place in closed rooms, and it is unacceptable for students to be in such a room."

"The ministry will not hesitate to take any decisions or impose penalties on those found guilty of negligence or failure to act, which led to this painful incident," he said. 

Police on Tuesday said they were questioning two minors who reportedly set a student on fire in one of the Kingdom’s schools a day earlier.

The two suspects allegedly poured a flammable substance on his stomach and chest and set it ablaze, the police spokesperson said.

“The child, who survived the incident and was listed in fair condition, appeared in a video clip on social media describing the alleged incident,” the police spokesperson told The Jordan Times.

The Family Protection Department (FPD) is currently investigating the incident, according to the police official.

In a video clip that circulated on social media, a boy named Mohammed, 11, spoke from a hospital bed of the alleged incident saying he was “attacked by two of his schoolmates who poured kerosene over his body and set him ablaze”.

A woman claiming to be his mother also appeared in the video claiming that two students attacked her son and called on the concerned authorities “to bring justice to my son”.

The juvenile prosecution office is expected to start investigating the incident once the FPD finishes its initial investigations, according to a statement by the Public Security Directorate.