Safe school vahan scheme hit by implementation hurdles

Despite a series of orders issued by the Punjab and Haryana high court to the state government for implementation of the ‘safe school vahan scheme’, private schools continue to violate the rules laid down under it.

Tuesday’s accident near Attari in Amritsar in which seven schoolchildren were killed is yet another case in point. The private school bus, according to the district administration, looked like an old and rickety vehicle, not allowed to be used as a school bus under the rules.

“The school management did not bother to send a member of the staff in the bus with school kids in gross violation of the rules,” said Amritsar deputy commissioner (DC) Varun Roojam. The motor vehicle inspector of the district (who holds charge of another district), is expected to check the vehicle only on Wednesday for other violations.

While a large part of the fault lies with the school management, the district authorities also faltered. The buses of the school had never been inspected by the district transport officer’s team as the school is “out of the way” near the border.

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“We have impounded almost a 100 school buses in the past one year in Amritsar under the scheme besides issuing challans. Inspecting school buses is an ongoing process and we are checking several vehicles every day,” said Lovejit Kalsi, Amritsar district transport officer (DTO).

The ‘safe school vahan scheme’ was notified by the Punjab government in November 2013 following the high court orders to ensure safe transportation of schoolchildren. However, in the past three years, the implementation of the scheme has been fraught with roadblocks, mainly created by the managements of private schools.

In Jalandhar, for instance, after year-long inspections, only 15 -20 buses out 1500 checked were found to be ‘safe.’ In February this year, when the DC called the representatives of the 340 private schools for a meeting on the implementation of the scheme, more than 300 remained absent.

In Ludhiana, of the 86 private schools, only 23 had submitted details of their vehicles by the end of 2015. Over 40% of the school buses plying in the city have been declared ‘unsafe’. Till early this month, nine prominent schools were yet to submit a status report on the implementation of the scheme. The story is no different in other districts.

“The nub of the problem lies in private schools refusing to take responsibility of their buses. They contend that the buses are run by private contractors and any mishap is the responsibility of the contractor,” says Dalwinderjit Singh, Ludhiana DTO.

The Punjab Commission for Protection of Child Rights, which is the nodal agency to implement the scheme, states that the school bus, even if being run by the contractor, are the responsibility of the school management. Schools charge the fee. They cannot be allowed to shirk the responsibility, hiding behind the contractor,” says commission’s chairman Sukesh Kalia. “We have sent a member of the commission to inquire about the Amritsar incident. He will be filing his report soon,” added Kalia.

Reason for non-execution

O Non-cooperation of private schools

O Parents ignorant of rules

O No parking space for impounded buses

O Shortage of staff at distict transport office

O Easy availability of condemned school buses from Delhi

O Political interference

Past incidents

MARCH 2016: Two school students were killed and 13 injured when a school bus overturned near Amir Khas village in Ferozepur

JANUARY 2016: Three students were killed and more than 20 injured when a speeding school van fell into a drain at Pindi village near Batala. Police booked the school owner and the bus driver for culpable homicide not amounting to murder

NOVEMBER 2014: Seventeen junior students of Delhi Public School had a narrow escape. They were trapped inside their school bus after it hit an electricity pole and caught fire

MARCH 2013: Twelve children were among 13 killed and eight other students injured when a truck collided with their bus on the Jalandhar-Nakodar road