Govt sits on school bus policy……Anahita Mukherji
Delays Resolution That Would Make Clutch Of Safety Measures Mandatory
Delays Resolution That Would Make Clutch Of Safety Measures Mandatory
Mumbai: When it comes to implementing a school bus policy for Maharashtra,the state governments attitude is akin to a footballer who finds the goalpost clear but does not kick the ball in.Almost a decade after a model school bus system was designed,the government is yet to implement its own policy.Its only after a particularly horrific accident involving school children occurs that the government springs into action.
Two years ago,after a group of kindergarteners died when a Maruti Omni exploded while ferrying them home from school,the government appointed a committee to draft a school bus policy for the state.
The committee gave its policy recommendations earlier this year,which were accepted by the cabinet.Now all that the administration needs to do is issue a government resolution (GR) so that the policy can be implemented.The GR,which was to be issued earlier this month,has yet again been delayed.The state says it wants to issue the GR in January 2011 after considering public opinion.
There is absolutely no need for the delay.We have already taken public opinion into account while drafting the policy.We held meetings with the public in Mumbai,Pune and Nagpur to gauge what people wanted, said transport expert Indrani Malkani,a member of the state-appointed committee.
The committees report details how to implement the school bus project.For starters,it makes school principals responsible for the transportation system.While children cannot use private transport to school,they are free to walk to school or use public transport.The benefits of the system are two-fold : it decongests the roads,and provides a safe,secure and efficient mode of transport for schoolchildren.
In 2002,Malkanialong with Mira Isaacs,principal of Cathedral & John Connon School,and Himanshu Roy,then DCP trafficdrafted a school bus system for Cathedral.The system,which ensured that all children came to school by bus,was a huge success.Besides creating strict safety guidelines for the system,an efficient route was charted out using a computer software which ensured that children spent the shortest possible time travelling to school.
Over the last eight years,several city schools have adopted Cathedrals system.In fact,the government-appointed committee to draft a school bus policy was set up to implement a system along the same lines.Now that its ready,all that the government needs to do is to issue a GR.
Transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil,who has been instrumental in speeding up the process of devising a policy on the issue,says the delay is because of certain legal hassles that the government is trying to overcome.Once the policy is passed,he said,nobody should challenge it in court.
But Malkani feels that all legal issues have been addressed in the contract that the policy suggests between schools and bus contractors.The system was first implemented in Cathedral in 2002.If there were legal issues,Malkani says,they would have been brought up by now.
Frustrated with the delay in the implementation of the policy,many involved in the system are afraid that it will take another gruesome school bus accident to force the government to kick the ball into the goalpost.
SAFE JOURNEY
* No student will be allowed to come to school in any vehicle other than the school bus.The only exception is for students who walk to school or use public transport
* Every school shall have a transport committee to look into the safe transportation of children,transportation fees,identification of bus stops and vehicle fitness
* The school principal shall be responsible for the childrens ride to and from the school
* Bus drivers will have to submit annual medical certificates to the school
* Children will have to be insured by their parents and school bus owners shall obtain third party insurance for every vehicle
* The transport contractor shall employ attendants;the bus staff is not permitted to play music on the vehicle
* Every school bus shall carry information on every student,including the childs blood group and contact numbers
* Route numbers must be clearly displayed on the bus
* No food or drinks shall be offered to the children on the bus by the staff unless it is provided by the school
Bus doors must be closed while the vehicle is in motion
* Penalties will be levied if the rules are broken