Resignation of the Director of Education in Kerman Following Student Bus Accident

Following the overturning of a bus carrying students from Farzanegan High School in Kerman on the evening of February 7, the director of education for District 2 of Kerman resigned on February 13. According to the government news agency ISNA, Reza Rezaei, the director general of education in Kerman province, announced this news and promised that the rights of the injured students would be pursued vigorously through legal channels. This government official described the resignation of the District 2 education director as 'voluntary' and attributed it to 'possible negligence and misconduct' by his subordinates. Rezaei also announced the referral of the school principal, camp supervisor, and responsible expert for camps in District 2 of Kerman's education department to the initial committee for administrative misconduct to investigate various aspects of this incident. The case of the bus overturning, which resulted in the death of 6 people and injuries to 35 others, is currently under investigation by the prosecutor's office in Mahaan, and several officials have been summoned for explanations. This incident occurred while the 12th-grade students were returning from a scientific and tourism camp on February 7, due to 'persistent technical defects in the bus' and 'non-compliance with camp protocols,' and is being pursued by judicial authorities. Previously, Sina Bani-Asad, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Mahaan, announced that the bus driver and the CEO of the transportation company have been in custody since the day after the incident, and the school principal is also under judicial supervision. Additionally, investigations have shown that the executive regulations for student camps were not fully and accurately followed by the school and the education department. The school was required to contract with a reputable transportation company, but the officials of Farzanegan School in Kerman made personal agreements with drivers, and the transportation company prepared the status report solely based on the drivers' statements without any review. Consequently, the provincial education director, the provincial road and transportation director, the provincial road and urban development director, and the head of District 2 education in Kerman have been summoned to the prosecutor's office for explanations. The Mahaan prosecutor had previously announced that the office of the relevant transportation company had been sealed off by judicial order and its activity code has been deactivated. Earlier reports indicated that police investigations revealed that one of the rear wheels of the bus had been without a braking system from the start. Additionally, the aging transportation fleet was a contributing factor in this incident, with the bus in question being a Volvo B.12 model from 2003. A father of a Kerman student stated, 'My child was sent to camp in a junk bus.' A video of a passenger bus burning on the Iran-Shahr to Chabahar route was shared, commemorating the students who lost their lives in front of Farzanegan School in Kerman. There were also reports of dirt being thrown at the Minister of Education at the grave of the Kerman student. Several individuals have been arrested following the overturning of the Kerman students' bus.