School puts bus circular on hold

Delhi Public School (DPS) in Nerul on Friday put in abeyance a circular it had asked its students’ parents to sign that stated that they would not hold the school responsible if the school buses met with an accident, reports Bhavya Dore.

Delhi Public School (DPS) in Nerul on Friday put in abeyance a circular it had asked its students’ parents to sign that stated that they would not hold the school responsible if the school buses met with an accident.

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The circular went against government guidelines, soon to be announced as a policy, that the school cannot absolve itself of all responsibility for bus safety even if it is just a facilitator for a private bus contractor.

“This decision has come as a huge relief to parents,” said Sajit Pisharodi, parent of a Class 1 student.

More than 200 parents of students of DPS gathered outside the school premises in Nerul on Friday, the deadline for signing the circular, to meet the principal. Four parent representatives then handed Principal P.C. Chabbra a memo asking him to withdraw the circular along with several other suggestions on the bus issue.

The school has sent back the circular to the DPS Society and said it would take further legal advice on the issue and then invite parents for a discussion.

“We want to work actively with the school and transportation is one part of that involvement,” said Rohit Malhotra, who was one of the parents who met with the principal.

Malhotra’s son was injured when a DPS bus collided with another school bus in Navi Mumbai last December.

After the accident, several parents had come together to work with the school on a new bus contract and suggested that the school float a tender for a new school bus contractor.