MARGAO
As a video showing school students travelling home in an open goods carrier went viral, the same old question has come back to haunt the heads of educational institutions “ has the schools constituted the Children Transportation Committee to look into the issue of safe transportation of school children?
It’s little over a month now since the schools had reopened for the new academic year, but inquiries with the Margao Traffic Cell have revealed that none of the schools coming under its jurisdiction has approached the Cell to recommend name of a traffic official for induction on the Children Transportation Committee, indicating that the schools are yet to constitute these panels as per the circular issued by the Director of Education.
The circular issued by Education Director Shailesh Zingde on August 26, 2022 had mandated every school to constitute the Children Transportation Committee as per sub rule (2) of Rule 5 of the Goa Motor Vehicles (Regulation for School Buses), Rules, 2016 to ensure safe transportation of school children. All the heads of government/ government aided/ unaided primary/ secondary/ higher secondary & special schools were told to submit a compliance report to the Education Directorate on or before September 7 last year.
In the last academic year, hardly a couple of schools out of the 80-odd schools located in Salcete, had asked the Margao Traffic Cell to recommend name of a traffic cop on the Children Transportation Committee.
When The Goan called up the in-charge of Margao Traffic Cell, PI Gautam Salunke to find out whether any of the schools have approached him to nominate a traffic official on the children transportation panel, he replied in the negative. “So far since the new academic year started last month, the Margao Traffic Cell has not received a single application from the Salcete schools to nominate a traffic official on the Children Transportation committees as per the Education Director’s circular,” he said.
He added: “As per the circular, the schools are required to set up the Children Transportation Committees and forward the same to the Education Department for onward submission to the Transport Department.”
Police officials in the know say the schools have not taken the issue seriously when the matter over the transportation of school children has come under the scanner of the judiciary.
Rule 5 of the Motor Vehicles Act mandates setting up Children Safety Committee for each district of the State of Goa to discuss, decide and recommend the issues pertaining to safety of children and their transportation under the Chairmanship of District Magistrate.
Rule 5 (2) mandates schools to constitute a Children Transport Committee to look into the matters pertaining to safe transportation of school children, transportation fees, identification of bus stops, etc.
The Transport Committee shall be headed by the Principal or Headmaster of the school and shall have one Parent Teacher Association representative, Traffic or Police Inspector of the respective area, Inspector of Motor Vehicles or Assistant Inspector of Motor Vehicles of that area. Education Inspector, representative of school bus owners, representative of attendants and representative of local authorities of that area, as its other members. The Transport Committee shall meet at least once in the three months prior to commencement of each semester.
