Regularising school buses

Education has expanded to reach almost all sections of society; expansion has been phenomenal. The first boost towards literacy came way back in 1953, when the then Chief Minister, Bakhshi Ghulam Muhammad, ordered free education from primary to post-graduate level. This revolutionary step benefitted the rural population maximally. Along with that, the State entered a long phase of providing the requisite infrastructure that would go a long way in eradicating illiteracy and spreading education among broad sections of population. Today the state can boast of more than 70 per cent literacy with schools and colleges mushrooming in villages far and near. Even at the university level, we have satellite campuses in several towns in both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
The number of school children is on an increase. Thousands of government and privately run schools are catering to educational requirements of school children. Among an important item of their infrastructure is included the transportation arrangement for the kids from their homes to the schools and back. This important activity grew manifold when the number of school going kids increased phenomenally. Private entrepreneurs came forward to provide vehicles for transporting the students from different points in the city/towns to the school premises and back at appointed timing. Unfortunately, there happened a few accidents in which some precious lives of kids were lost owing mostly either to the negligence of the school staff/drivers/conductors or to mechanical defectiveness of the buses and other related matters. The Apex Court took cognizance of the issue of negligence on the part of the concerned and issued strict guidelines which the state governments were supposed to implement by way of reforming the transport system of school institutions.  The State Government has not so far taken any concrete step towards implementing the guidelines of the Apex Court and left the school authorities or private entrepreneurs to use their discretion. However, considering the dangers involved and also taking public pressure into account, the government is now said to be mulling for regularization of school transport that would encompass not only the guidelines of the Apex Court but also something more which the State considers worthwhile.
The State government is thinking of regularising private transport engaged by the families in a given locality to carry the children to schools and back. At present private vans, autos and mini buses are hired by the families for the purpose because there are no private or RTC buses deployed for the purpose. The SRTC authorities are reported to have anticipated certain difficulties in implementing court guidelines in full. As such they are said to be devising a method that would give space to private transport vehicles to be deployed for this particular service. Obviously, the transport department shall have to register the vehicle providers, subject their vehicles to technical test, ensure safe pick up and drop down of children at appointed spots, ensure their safety back to their parents, provision of first aid box in the vehicle and many other safety measures. It would be in fitness of things that the approved vehicles for the purpose are exempted from road toll tax by way of incentive from the government. The transport department may also consider allowing the vehicles carrying school children to display blinking of red lamp atop as a sign for allowing passage to these vehicles in situations of traffic jam.
But ultimately the State Road Transport Corporation will have to jump into the fray to play its decisive role as is the case with other states. It will have to place order with the vehicle manufacturing units to supply buses with pre-conceived specifications to serve as school buses. These buses have special arrangement of safety automation etc. and are protected against damages caused by stone pelting or other minor mishaps. They are painted in deep yellow, the accepted colour for school buses and are identifiable from a distance. All schools are required to constitute a transport committee which will have the responsibility of ensuring safety and punctuality of the buses and vehicles engaged by either the school authorities or by private individuals to cater to the needs of the kids going to school.
We appreciate the initiative taken by the concerned authorities in this behalf. That the kids should have safe to and back school transportation is our main concern. Cooperation of school authorities, families concerned and the government is of vital important to devise a viable and dependable transport system for school going children.

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