School buses

The transport authorities have issued a new set of rules for school buses in line with the recent directives issued by the Supreme Court of India. This is a very important step, which should have come long ago. School buses are notorious for flouting rules. While a section of school buses is privately owned, the bulk of the buses however belongs to the schools themselves. Thus, school authorities are to be held equally guilty for their buses flouting the rules. Many schools continue to run buses which should have been by now sold as junk if not sent to an automobile museum. Moreover, just painting a bus yellow does not convert it into a school bus. There are many other aspects to it. Some of the important regulations which have been issued include the appointment of a female attendant in each school bus alongside the existing male attendant or conductor. This is a very important step because the large majority of male attendants do not have any understanding of the girl child. But simply appointing a female attendant is not enough. Both female and male attendants should be trained in the administration of first aid, as also in child rights, especially the rights of the girl child. Simultaneously, there should also be an orientation on gender sensitivity and gender equality. Such orientation should also include male drivers. In Guwahati, as also in other cities, school bus drivers are generally known for rough driving, overtaking and using abusive language against other people. The authorities should also look into imposing a ban on private school vehicles. While such vehicles are generally seen carrying overloaded passengers, the school authorities have no control whatsoever over them. Many times, old vehicles are used for transporting school children through a kind of private arrangement between vehicle owners and parents/guardians. This practise should be immediately stopped, and those found transporting school children in such vehicles should be heavily penalized. What however appears to be missing in the Supreme Court guidelines is parking space outside the school gate. Most schools do not have parking spaces for their buses. Thus, school buses block roads and cause serious inconvenience to other people.