KOCHI: The rise in the number of school van mishaps proves that safety measures are being thrown to the winds by schools. Recklessness of schools has claimed four more lives. Monday’s school van mishap in which four children died and left many injured when the driver of a school van lost control and the vehicle plunged into the Parvathy Puthanar in Thiruvananthapuram and the ones before that raise questions on the safety of children who commute to schools in vehicles. To ensure students’ safety, various norms were put in place but how many schools adhere to them? “We have 26 buses and employed experienced drivers and conductors who are trained to see to it that children are transported safely. Speed governors are put in place. Drivers are made to undergo health check-up and the condition of the vehicles is also checked. We have a person who is in charge of the transport. Teachers also see to it that safety measures are properly implemented. Ninety percent of the students are seated and there is no overcrowding and space for baggage is provided in many buses. Senior students are made bus monitors. The drivers, conductors and senior students have also been trained in tackling exigencies too, said Molly Cyril, Principal, Choice School. Since Choice School has buses of various sizes, students living in interiors and outskirts of the city find it easy to commute. But it is not so in other schools. Rajagiri Public School has 16 school buses. “We offer our service to those who seek it. We try to make it as safe and comply with norms as far as possible. Students may have to stand. Other than providing parking space, the vans and minibuses opted by parents do not come under our control,” said Fr Painadath, Principal, Rajagiri Public School, Kalamassery. But the number of school buses are few in other schools. “We have two school buses and they comply with the norms. The instructions in Malayalam have been highlighted at the entrance of the school for the interest of all drivers. We have talks for drivers and police too have held sessions with them. The teachers who travel by buses also take up safety responsibilities. We do not intend to increase the number of buses,” said Maya Mohan, Principal, Chinmaya Vidyalaya. “But many school buses are seen flouting norms. The sight of crowded school buses is common and some are seen speeding by. Space for baggage is hardly there. It is also alleged that teachers occupy most of the seats in school buses,” said a few local people. Since the school buses take a fixed route, children have to reach a particular spot at the required time. This leaves many parents to organise vehicles which would pick students from the house gate and leave them at the school gate which is more convenient than safe. As such vehicles do not come under the control of the schools, rules are often flouted which leaves students in danger. Students are packed to the brim. There is no specific space for bags during rainy days when they cannot be packed on the roof of the vehicles. The experience of the drivers is hardly questioned especially that of the substitutes when the driver is on leave. Speed governors are not in place as they have other appointments after the school schedules. Same is the case of autorickshaws. These vehicles are hardly monitored. The majority of schools are not able to provide adequate transport infrastructure as per norms. “Transport infrastructure is very expensive, cost of buses and their maintenance and drivers’ pay are hard to bear. The government should also offer assistance other than imposing rules, given the strength of the school. Safety is the collective responsibility of parents, who should choose the safest mode of transport, schools and drivers,” said T P M Ibrahim Khan, chairman, Al-Ameen Public School
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