Private school principal dismissed in backlash over student’s drowning

AMMAN — The Cambridge High School has terminated the services of its principal as of Wednesday upon a request from the Education Ministry, an official said Thursday.

The decision was taken over a week after the death of a seven-year-old girl who drowned in the private school’s pool while swimming with her peers.

“The decision to lay off the school principal, Diana Afranji, has nothing to do with the incident, but was the result of complaints filed against her,” Farid Khatib, head of the ministry’s private education department, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He noted that students and their parents complained to the ministry about Afranji’s “disrespectful attitude” towards students.

“We also found out that she had not obtained the required approval for the school’s extracurricular activities and even the pool was not licensed,” Khatib highlighted, noting that the pool is now closed.

He added that the Civil Defence Department notified the school several times between the years 2006 and 2012 of the need to submit the pool’s blueprint in order to meet required safety measures for licensing purposes.

The death of the student prompted the Education Ministry to form a committee that includes members of the ministry’s private education and legal affairs departments to investigate the incident, and present its report to court.