Gaya school bus operators violate CBSE guidelines

GAYA: Notwithstanding the warning issued by the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body constituted under the 2005 Act passed by Parliament, Gaya-based CBSE school bus operators flout the prescribed norms with impunity. The national body issued the warning a couple of years back.
The warning was issued on the basis of complaints received by the commission alleging blatant violation of the SC guidelines by several Gaya-based CBSE schools.
On 23 February'2017, the CBSE issued a circular detailing therein the standard operating procedure for the school buses. Important points include yellow paint on all school buses with ‘school bus’ written prominently on the front as well as back of the bus, use of non-combustible material in seats, provision of fire tenders, installation of functional global positioning system and Close Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras in buses and grilled window.
The other essentials include emergency gate, speed governor with a maximum 40 km speed limit, uniform with proper name tag for school bus drivers, deployment of one transport manager in each school bus, at least one female attendant in each bus, sufficient white lighting arrangement, functional gate locks, enough space for school bags beneath the seat and first aid box etc.
Gaya district magistrate Abhishek Singh, while acknowledging the seriousness of the matter said that about two months back, he convened a meeting of private school operators on the issue. The school operators sought time to comply with the norms. They have been given three months time to ensure compliance. One month of the three-month grace period was left and strict action will be taken if school operators continue to violate the norms. Besides the bus issue, school operators were also directed to ensure compliance of the Right to Education Act and take effective measures for the security of children on school premises.
US Prasad, director, DAV group of schools and chairman of the association of CBSE schools, Gaya, did not respond to the call made at his number.
CBSE school operators in private say the circular as impractical. It was simply out of question to design school buses entirely as per the parameters set in the circular. “Deputation of transport managers and lady attendants in each bus would cause unbearable financial burden on school management,” say school operators.
According to former municipal corporator Lalji Prasad, a number of accidents caused by school buses have registered a sharp increase in recent years and most of the school bus drivers violate with impunity the speed limit to beat the timeline. “Punishment of erring school bus drivers was required for the safety of all other road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists,” said Prasad.