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Edu Dept told to implement Safe School Vahan Scheme

FARIDKOT: The Transport Department has asked the School Education Department to ensure safe transportation of schoolchildren by implementing the Safe School Vahan Scheme.

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Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, October 17

The Transport Department has asked the School Education Department to ensure safe transportation of schoolchildren by implementing the Safe School Vahan Scheme.

Six years have passed since the state government notified the scheme, but most of the schools have failed to implement it.

In a letter to all District Education Officers (DEOs), the Transport Department has asked them to implement the scheme notified on November 7, 2013, following the High Court orders.

According to the scheme, the head of the school shall be responsible for transportation of the schoolchildren. A school-level transport committee shall be constituted in each school. This committee shall be headed by the school head and shall consists of a police officer not below the rank of an ASI, a Motor Vehicle inspector, an assistant district education officer and a representative of the Parents-Teachers Association of the school.

The department said the committee should meet once in a month to discuss matters pertaining to safe transportation and it should verify the documents related to school buses.

Under the scheme, the school head needs to ensure that all schools buses are painted yellow, ‘school bus’ must be written on the rear and front of the bus. If it is a hired bus, ‘on school duty’ should be clearly indicated.

Besides, every bus should have its first aid box and fire extinguisher. The window of the buses should be fitted with horizontal grills and school name and its telephone number should be written on it. The doors of the bus should be fitted with a reliable lock and the driver should have at least five-year experience in driving a heavy vehicle. Apart from this, the driver and the conductor should wear uniform along with their name plates and licence number. No bus should carry children in excess of its registered seating capacity.

A one-day refresher course of first aid and fire extinguishing techniques has been suggested to conduct twice a year.

The scheme says there the medical checkup of the driver should be conducted. One attendant from the school in each bus shall be provided and in case of the bus carrying girl students, a lady attendant shall be provided in it.

To ensure the control of vehicular speed in front of the school, 25 km/ph shall be the maximum speed limit. This speed should be limited to maximum 10 km/ph before the gate of the school. Boarding and alighting from the school buses should be arranged on the school side so that children do not have to cross the road.

The district administration and the police are of the view that they do everything to protect schoolchildren. Drivers and schools say most of the conditions put forth by the district administration and the police are unrealistic and may fail to materialise with parents having to cough up more.

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