No check on school transport safety

The Supreme Court guidelines make it mandatory that a schoolteacher is present in the school bus, reports Atul Mathur.

The incident has brought to light the loopholes in the safety measures taken for children in school transport. While there are clear guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on school transport safety, they are rarely followed in the NCR region.

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The Supreme Court guidelines make it mandatory that a schoolteacher is present in the bus. The bus involved in the incident did not have a school staff or a teacher on board. The driver and the helper were also not wearing their uniforms.

The schools also do not get a police verification done for their staff. School authorities, however, insist that it was one of the rare events and the school transport is otherwise a very safe mode of transport. “School transport is the school’s own responsibility and we take all the possible measures,” said Rita Kapoor, principal, Delhi Public School Ghaziabad. According to district magistrate Deepak Aggarwal, strict check is kept on school and their transport. He, however, agreed that there is no check on private vehicles ferrying children to schools and back.