Private schools cock a snook at vahan scheme

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 21

Despite repeated instructions by the district administration for the implementation of the Safe School Vahan Scheme (SSVS), private schools in the city continue to violate its rules. It seems that these schools cock a snook at the scheme.

Schoolchildren can be seen crammed in vans, buses and auto-rickshaws of private schools.

The scheme was notified by the Punjab Government in November 2013 following the orders of the High Court to ensure safe transportation of schoolchildren. However, in the past six years, the implementation of the scheme has hit several roadblocks, mainly by the management of private schools.

After missing several deadlines, the administration asked the private schools to submit the status report about the transport till March 31, but only some of them responded.

Under the scheme, the school authorities are responsible for safe transportation of students. However, these schools have turned a blind eye to the guidelines issued by the district authorities, thereby shrugging off their responsibility.

Minor students can often be seen jostling for space inside jam-packed autos and school vans. In several instances, students can also be seen sitting on the edge of the auto driver’s seat.

District Child Protection Officer Harpreet Kaur Sandhu, who is the nodal officer to implement the scheme, said the responsibility of safe plying of school buses or vans, run by contractors, also lies with the school management. They could not be allowed to shirk off their responsibility by hiding behind contractors.

Harpreet said: “We have been continuously holding awareness camps in schools to sensitise staff and children to the scheme. Now, we have started issuing challans after they failed to comply with the directions.”

Sandhu said though the situation had improved a lot, private schools were still hesitant to comply with the scheme.

163 issued challans

The Patiala traffic police have issued 117 challans to vehicles of private schools this year. Apart from this, 46 auto-rickshaws overloaded with schoolchildren have also been issued challans. Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Palwinder Singh Cheema said: “To ensure the safety of schoolchildren, we have been continuously issuing challans under the scheme.”

Officials said a majority of the school buses didn’t have speed governors. In several cases, female attendants were not present in vehicles. Under the scheme, a female attendant was must if there were even a single girl on the bus.

About the scheme

Under the scheme, school heads need to ensure that all school buses are painted yellow and “school bus” must be written on the rear and front of the bus. If it is a hired bus, ‘on school duty’ should be clearly indicated. 

 Every bus should have a first-aid box and a fire extinguisher. Windows of the buses should be fitted with horizontal grills and school name and its telephone number should be written on them. Doors of the bus should be fitted with a reliable lock and the driver should have at least five years of experience in driving a heavy vehicle. 

 Apart from this, the driver and the conductor should wear uniform, along with their nameplates and licence number. No bus should carry children in excess of its registered seating capacity.