The Central Board of Secondary Education has issued comprehensive guidelines on safety of children in school buses on Thursday. Stating that the guidelines “should be scrupulously followed and complied with by all affiliated schools,” the Board stated that the management and the head of the school will be held responsible for any lapse which could lead to disaffiliation. The Board has made speed governors with 40 km per hour, GPS and CCTV mandatory for school buses.
The Board divided the guidelines into seven broad categories which include exterior and interior of the bus, manpower, and facilities on the bus, permits, arrangements by school authorities and advisory to parents. CBSE in its circular stated that “the recent unfortunate instances reported in the media about callous approach by certain schools with respect to the safety of school children during transit to and from the school have again agitated deep concern regarding the safety of school children. The time has come to make the schools sensitive to this serious issue and to take proactive remedial measures to ensure that safe transport for school children becomes one of the paramount safety objectives for every CBSE-affiliated school.”
The circular stated that in case of any lapse the school management and the head of the school will have to face “appropriate action including disaffiliation of the school as per the provisions under affiliation bye-laws”.
