PANJIM: Following the miraculous escape of 38 school students after a private bus caught a minor fire last week, parents are asking questions on the safety of children on school buses.
Parents also raised questions on whether guidelines issued by Directorate of Education (DoE), after the intervention of the court, are being followed on all the Bal Rath buses and private school buses.
“The recent minor fire accident forced me to question the authorities whether all necessary safety measure are being followed on school buses be it private or the government-run buses. I want to know from the authorities whether all the needful equipment related to safety is present in the buses,” Narendra Kerkar, a parent said.
According to the DoE safety guidelines when a vehicle is hired for transporting school students, a sign ‘On School Duty’ should be made visible to everyone. Also every school bus should have a first aid box, fire extinguisher, space under the seat to keep bags of students and warning lights.
The guidelines also specify that a vehicle used as school bus should not be more than 15 years old from the date of its initial registration and while in emergency situations, school bus driver and attendant should inform the relevant school authorities to make necessary arrangements and ensure student safety.
Another parent, Abhilasha Mohanty said, “Goa has had many serious accidents related to school buses and since then with the intervention of the court, Education Department had come out with many safety guidelines but the main question here is: has the department checked whether the safety equipment is in place and whether the fire extinguishers have been replaced?”
Parents have further said that random checks should be made by halting private school buses and checking if all necessary safety measures are being followed and whether the bus has been absorbing more passengers than its actual number.
“There should be surprise checks by RTO to keep a tab if the bus has been carrying excess passengers. In case of private school buses there should be checks to see if the bus doors are properly locked and whether safety instruction issues are being maintained,” said Manisha Talwadkar, a parent from Alto-Betim
Speaking to Herald, Education Director G P Bhat said, “Our department regularly keeps a check on the safety measures on Bal Rath school buses. Our special deputy education officers conduct surprise and random checks for any violation on Bal Rath buses and Kadamba but as far as private buses are hired for picnics, the school management has to update the Education Department and the nearest police station about the trip with the details of the bus. The guidelines issued by us are strictly followed on the buses.”
