Kangra admn fails to implement safety norms for school buses

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, January 14

Parents of schoolchildren in Kangra district have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of their wards, especially after the rise in school bus accidents in the state. In the past 10 months, over 50 schoolchildren have lost their lives in different school bus mishaps, which is a very high figure.

Though the state government has come out with various safety measures and issued new guidelines for the buses being operated by schools to ensure the safety of children, these guidelines have remained confined to official files and in the absence of administrative will, most of the schools have not implemented these.

The government has fixed the age limit of school bus drivers at 60 years with a experience of five years in driving school buses. But there is no record of the drivers operating the school buses with the administration or the police. Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that only few schools have followed the orders of the government.

The government has also notified the colour of school buses and its speed limit at 40 kilometers as per the directions of the Supreme Court, but in Kangra, most schools have hired taxis or mini buses to ferry the students in gross violation of the orders of the apex court. These buses are always overloaded.

These guidelines had come after the wake of Nurpur bus mishap in which 27 schoolchildren and three adults were killed. Thereafter, the government constituted a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary. The DCs across the state were directed to constitute committees of officers at the district and sub-divisional level to keep a check on schools and school buses by holding periodic meetings from time to time.

The abstract of the notification which is with The Tribune says, “The school managements will not be allowed to hire a driver above 60 years of age and having driving experience of less than five years. The management will appoint a dedicated transport officer to oversee the plying of the buses, their condition and the fitness of drivers. There will be a regular check-up of his health and his medical records will be kept in order.

ed the school buses only for a week and then stopped.