Fresh guidelines issued by CBSE for safety of children in school buses
February 24, 2017The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued fresh guidelines for the safety and security of children in terms of installing CCTVs and GPS systems in school buses.
The school will now have to appoint guards on school buses and fit the vehicles with closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs), GPS systems, sirens and grilles on windows. Further, such school buses are also required to have one well-trained lady attendant and, if possible, a parent overseeing the driver and conductor.
The CBSE has further stated that the guidelines should be carefully followed and complied with by all CBSE affiliated schools. These guidelines were divided by the Board into seven broad categories which include exterior and interior of the bus, manpower and facilities on the bus, permits, and arrangements by school authorities and advisory to parents.
School buses will have to be fitted with alarm bell and siren and the vehicles cannot have curtains or films on the windows. The windows of the bus should be fitted with horizontal grills with mesh wire. Speed governors should be installed in such buses to monitor speed limits. GPS and CCTV arrangement should be in working condition at all the times.
The circular stating these guidelines clearly mentioned that in case of any lapse, the school management and the head of the school will face severe consequences including disaffiliation of the school, as per the provisions under affiliation bye-laws.
According to officials, the guidelines were issued on the directions of human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar after a school bus accident in Uttar Pradesh in January that killed 12 schoolchildren.
The circular is applicable for all 18,000 CBSE-affiliated schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas.
The school will now have to appoint guards on school buses and fit the vehicles with closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs), GPS systems, sirens and grilles on windows. Further, such school buses are also required to have one well-trained lady attendant and, if possible, a parent overseeing the driver and conductor.
The CBSE has further stated that the guidelines should be carefully followed and complied with by all CBSE affiliated schools. These guidelines were divided by the Board into seven broad categories which include exterior and interior of the bus, manpower and facilities on the bus, permits, and arrangements by school authorities and advisory to parents.
School buses will have to be fitted with alarm bell and siren and the vehicles cannot have curtains or films on the windows. The windows of the bus should be fitted with horizontal grills with mesh wire. Speed governors should be installed in such buses to monitor speed limits. GPS and CCTV arrangement should be in working condition at all the times.
The circular stating these guidelines clearly mentioned that in case of any lapse, the school management and the head of the school will face severe consequences including disaffiliation of the school, as per the provisions under affiliation bye-laws.
According to officials, the guidelines were issued on the directions of human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar after a school bus accident in Uttar Pradesh in January that killed 12 schoolchildren.
The circular is applicable for all 18,000 CBSE-affiliated schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas.
OUR TAKE
The new guidelines introduced by CBSE were long awaited. The school authorities should take appropriate measures as soon as possible to make the required arrangements for the safety and security of school children. The Board should further keep a check that the said guidelines are complied with by all schools within a short period of time.
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