Have private schools using cabs for the transportation of children set up safety committees? Are schools or the authorities concerned aware that such committees are mandatory by law to ensure the safety of schoolchildren? These questions attain importance in the wake of recent accidents involving schoolchildren in the State.
The authorities had been accused of remaining “mute spectators” to the gross violation of safety norms for children in spite of the fact the Karnataka Motor Vehicles (conditions for vehicles engaged in transport of schoolchildren) Rules, 2012, came into effect on May 1, 2013.
The safe transportation of children to schools is the joint responsibility of the departments of transport, police and public instruction. Instead of reining in those flouting rules, the Transport Department had asked parents and guardians to ensure the rules are followed for the safety of their children.
The question is, when the authorities themselves cannot curb violations, what action can parents take for their child’s safety.
However, after the recent accidents involving school buses and vans, the Transport Department has issued a notice asking the heads of schools/school communities and private vehicles (contract carriage) operators providing transport facility to the children to comply with the rules and safety guidelines as directed by the Supreme Court.
When a senior official of the Department of Public Instruction was contacted by The Hindu, he expressed ignorance of the mandatory safety committees which the private schools are supposed to constitute. “We haven’t received any circular on this. Otherwise, we would have asked the schools to implement the guideline,” he said.
The official argued that the transport issues have to be dealt by the Transport Department.
Seating capacity
According to the Transport Department, the seating capacity of such vehicles should not exceed 12 children besides the driver. The number should not exceed one-and-a-half times of the permitted capacity of the school cab if it is carrying children below 12 years of age as a child aged above 12 should be treated as one person.
But, this rule is being grossly violated with the police and transport departments allegedly turning a blind eye to the breach.
When the police had cracked down on erring school vans sometime ago here, the drivers protested and stopped operations, causing inconvenience to parents, especially those working. The issue needs to be handled in such a way that the safety of children gets top priority, sources said. A proper mechanism does not exist for regular checking of the documents and licences and other details of the driver and the vehicles.
A recent meeting by the district administration here had resolved to hold the departments concerned responsible for the violation of the Act.
