Policy mandates students take school bus, vehicle owners hire attendants
‘Corrected’ School Bus Policy Released
Shreya Bhandary TNN
The corrected version of the school bus safety policy was released on Monday, two years after it was first announced. The document, outlining ‘safety rules and regulations’ pertaining to school buses, was uploaded on the government website in Marathi as well as English.
It was first released in March 2011 in English. “There was an error in its Marathi translation which has been rectified and uploaded for the benefit of schools, parents and bus contractors. Our aim was to ensure that no more errors delay effective the implementation of the policy,” said a senior education department official.
“Implementation was the responsibility of the RTO and the education department. The department, on its part, was supposed to translate the original English document into Marathi and release both copies to schools,” said Indrani Malkani, activist and member of the committee set up by the state government to formulate the policy. However, she said the regulations were “corrected” and not “revised” as mentioned by the department on the website.
RTO officials said the guidelines, which involve school principals and also other staffers, will enable stringent enforcement against errant school bus operators. “The principal will have to co-ordinate with bus operators, sign contracts and also keep tabs on every bus arriving at the school. Principals also have to tipoff the RTO on any irregularities or shortcomings in any bus,” said deputy RTO Bharat Kalaskar.
Regional transport officer K T Golani told TOI that they have formed teams (50 in Mumbai) to reach out to school principals and persuade them to sign contracts with bus owners. He added involvement of the school will be very important. “Principals can also be held responsible in case of any reports of negligence,” he added. GROUND RULES REITERATED SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHOOL BUS SAFETY POLICY
No school shall allow students to come to school by vehicles other than buses provided by the institution. But it won’t be applicable to those who walk to school, use public transport (excluding taxi and auto), if the school is unable to provide a bus route, those who are ill or have to leave in an emergency The buses should be painted yellow and shall display the words “School Bus” in front; private buses should have a yellow stripe of 20 inches on all sides along the centre
Buses plying in Mumbai should not be more than 8 years old from the date of registration; CNG buses shouldn’t be older than 15 years
All buses should be fi tted with speed governors limiting maximum speed to 40 kmph in Mumbai civic limits; in other areas it shall not exceed 50 kmph
The first step of the access board should not exceed 325mm from the ground
There should be hand-rails along steps at the front door
All buses should have an emergency exit door at the rear
Each bus should have a copy of names and other information of every child travelling on the bus; first-aid box; 2 ABC type fire extinguishers of 5kg
The transport contractor shall employ male/lady attendants and cleaners
School authorities shall be responsible for conducting one day refresher course on first-aid and fi re extinguishing techniques twice a year before semesters start
Buses must not carry children more than the vehicle’s specifi ed capacity
TIME LOST IN TRANSLATION, ERRORS FOUND
The school bus safety policy, released on March 22, 2011, in English, was to be implemented by the RTO and the education department. The department had to translate it into Marathi and distribute both versions to schools. The Marathi translation took two years and had several errors. The corrected version was released on November 18, 2013
PENALTIES OUTLINED
A penalty of 1,000/- per month per bus will be charged for improper/ unsafe conditions of the bus, any other irregularity in terms of punctuality, absenteeism of any member of the staff, lapse in physical condition of the bus
A penalty of 50/- per stop, per trip, one way will be charged in the event of a bus being unable to ply. This will be debited to the contractor’s account and pertains to the actual expenses incurred by parents to and from the school
A penalty of 1,000/- per bus will be charged for each late pick-up at home or the school and disembarking children contrary to instructions given. This shall also apply to any stops made to pick-up or drop off children at nonscheduled stops
Source:
Times of India, Mumbai 19/11/2013
From India, Malappuram
1444‘Corrected’ School Bus Policy Released
Shreya Bhandary TNN
The corrected version of the school bus safety policy was released on Monday, two years after it was first announced. The document, outlining ‘safety rules and regulations’ pertaining to school buses, was uploaded on the government website in Marathi as well as English.
It was first released in March 2011 in English. “There was an error in its Marathi translation which has been rectified and uploaded for the benefit of schools, parents and bus contractors. Our aim was to ensure that no more errors delay effective the implementation of the policy,” said a senior education department official.
“Implementation was the responsibility of the RTO and the education department. The department, on its part, was supposed to translate the original English document into Marathi and release both copies to schools,” said Indrani Malkani, activist and member of the committee set up by the state government to formulate the policy. However, she said the regulations were “corrected” and not “revised” as mentioned by the department on the website.
RTO officials said the guidelines, which involve school principals and also other staffers, will enable stringent enforcement against errant school bus operators. “The principal will have to co-ordinate with bus operators, sign contracts and also keep tabs on every bus arriving at the school. Principals also have to tipoff the RTO on any irregularities or shortcomings in any bus,” said deputy RTO Bharat Kalaskar.
Regional transport officer K T Golani told TOI that they have formed teams (50 in Mumbai) to reach out to school principals and persuade them to sign contracts with bus owners. He added involvement of the school will be very important. “Principals can also be held responsible in case of any reports of negligence,” he added. GROUND RULES REITERATED SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHOOL BUS SAFETY POLICY
No school shall allow students to come to school by vehicles other than buses provided by the institution. But it won’t be applicable to those who walk to school, use public transport (excluding taxi and auto), if the school is unable to provide a bus route, those who are ill or have to leave in an emergency The buses should be painted yellow and shall display the words “School Bus” in front; private buses should have a yellow stripe of 20 inches on all sides along the centre
Buses plying in Mumbai should not be more than 8 years old from the date of registration; CNG buses shouldn’t be older than 15 years
All buses should be fi tted with speed governors limiting maximum speed to 40 kmph in Mumbai civic limits; in other areas it shall not exceed 50 kmph
The first step of the access board should not exceed 325mm from the ground
There should be hand-rails along steps at the front door
All buses should have an emergency exit door at the rear
Each bus should have a copy of names and other information of every child travelling on the bus; first-aid box; 2 ABC type fire extinguishers of 5kg
The transport contractor shall employ male/lady attendants and cleaners
School authorities shall be responsible for conducting one day refresher course on first-aid and fi re extinguishing techniques twice a year before semesters start
Buses must not carry children more than the vehicle’s specifi ed capacity
TIME LOST IN TRANSLATION, ERRORS FOUND
The school bus safety policy, released on March 22, 2011, in English, was to be implemented by the RTO and the education department. The department had to translate it into Marathi and distribute both versions to schools. The Marathi translation took two years and had several errors. The corrected version was released on November 18, 2013
PENALTIES OUTLINED
A penalty of 1,000/- per month per bus will be charged for improper/ unsafe conditions of the bus, any other irregularity in terms of punctuality, absenteeism of any member of the staff, lapse in physical condition of the bus
A penalty of 50/- per stop, per trip, one way will be charged in the event of a bus being unable to ply. This will be debited to the contractor’s account and pertains to the actual expenses incurred by parents to and from the school
A penalty of 1,000/- per bus will be charged for each late pick-up at home or the school and disembarking children contrary to instructions given. This shall also apply to any stops made to pick-up or drop off children at nonscheduled stops
Source:
Times of India, Mumbai 19/11/2013
From India, Malappuram
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