Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Concerned over increasing bus accidents, the regional transport officer has issued directives to all private schools and warned them to deploy only those buses that comply with the stipulated guidelines for transporting children.
The RTO has also called a meeting of the school administration on Wednesday to ensure the compliance of all the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court for the safety of students in school buses.
“As schools will be opened from June 19, the directives were given to ensure safety of students for which workable and well-maintained buses should be deployed,” RTO Pradeep Sharma said.
The schools will be reopened for students from June 19 after the summer vacations. Due to the vacations, the interventions for maintenance of the school buses were halted for a couple of months and officials have expressed concern regarding the condition of buses, being operated by the educational institutions.
RTO has warned the management of private schools against the use of buses with expired fitness certificates. If any centre is found violating this norm, strict action will be taken against the school.
The school administrations are also required to adhere to the safety standards set by the Supreme Court including equipping buses with seat belts, fire extinguishers, first-aid boxes, CCTV surveillance and GPS tracking, amongst other things.
“We will conduct surprise inspections to check the compliance of the vehicles with the stated rules and regulations. Action against the school will also be taken along with the drivers and helpers,” RTO added.
