Tunisia School Tragedy: Wall Collapse Kills Three Students in Sidi Bouzid
Years of warnings ignored as neglected school infrastructure leads to deadly collapse, sparking national outrage and calls for accountability.
Watan-In a tragic and painful scene, the dreams of three students preparing to take the baccalaureate exam turned into premature funerals after they lost their lives when a dilapidated wall collapsed inside the secondary school in the city of Mezzouna, in the Sidi Bouzid governorate of Tunisia.
The incident, which occurred in an instant, also resulted in serious injuries to other students, some of whom are now in intensive care, amid widespread grief and growing public anger.
According to statements from the school administration and civil society, the collapsed wall had been at risk of falling for years, with both official and unofficial warnings sent to the Ministry of Education and local authorities—yet no action was taken.
“Petitions of Defiance” Shake Mossad and the Army… and Netanyahu Threatens Dismissals!
Henda El-Ghanmi, an official at the school, said the tragedy was not surprising but expected: “The danger had been clear for a long time, but no one acted.”
Those words were enough to ignite a wave of intense anger that swept through Mezzouna, where shops were closed, movement came to a complete halt, the main road was blocked, and a government vehicle was pelted with stones—expressing public rejection of what was described as “deadly negligence.”
Meanwhile, activists and civil society representatives called for a suspension of classes across all Tunisian schools and institutes in solidarity with the victims, and to highlight that public education is in real danger if official silence and structural negligence continue.
Social media platforms were flooded with photos of the deceased students, condolence messages, and videos from the scene of the disaster. Comments denouncing the “crime of the state” poured in, with many stating that this was not a fated tragedy but a direct result of chronic neglect.
One user wrote: “Unless those responsible are held accountable, expect more walls to fall… and more innocent lives to be lost.”
As of the time of writing, the government had not issued an official detailed statement regarding the causes of the incident or the measures to be taken. What is certain, however, is that this tragedy has opened a deep wound in the body of public education—one that will not easily heal.
