As government and private educational institutions opened for the new academic year on Monday, the absence of school buses and vans on the roads was glaring. According to statistics on the official website of the State Transport Authority, there are 2,244 school buses as on November 1, 2012 in Tamil Nadu. But thanks to the new stricter rules introduced by STA following the tragic death of a school student S Shruti in July last, many private institutions in the city appear to have withdrawn their vehicles.
A few exceptions like Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya Senior Secondary School, Mylapore, which runs three vans to pick up students from areas like Mylapore, Alwarpet, Adyar and Thiruvanmiyur, could not ply the vehicles on the opening day, due to a delay in completion of maintenance checks and structural alterations.
The guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on school bus safety, which came into effect on May 1, stipulate the installation of an emergency exit, a grill behind the driver’s cabin, baggage rack and an extra footstep ensuring that the footboard is not more than 30 cm from the ground, among others. Add to that a conductor, a fully-equipped first-aid box and two fire extinguishers. Besides, drivers cannot exceed the 45 km per hour speed.
“We sent our three vans to the motor companies for maintenance checks and refitting a month ago, but we have still not received them,” said Jashoda Sundar, vice-principal, Sivaswami Kalalaya. While the delay could have been caused by similar orders placed by other schools, she added that many institutions in Mylapore and Adyar had withdrawn their vehicles in the light of the new rules. “There is so much of detailing that it has become a problem for many schools to operate their buses and vans anymore,” she said.
For instance, Bala Vidya Mandir in Adyar operated two buses and two vans until last year, ferrying students from different parts of south Chennai to the sprawling campus located on Fourth Main Road, Gandhi Nagar. But not anymore. Hence, parents of wards studying in the school and other institutions in the area could be seen personally dropping their wards in their vehicles or autorickshaws.
Sources said, Road Transport Officers (RTOs) have been strictly instructed to inspect the documents pertaining to fitness certificate, permit, insurance, road tax and school recognition certificate before granting clearance to the vehicles. “Whatever instructions have been given to us, we are following them,” an RTO officer said, declining to go into details.
According to Sudhakar, Senior Motor Vehicles inspector, RTO, Thiruvanmiyur, there are 150 school buses operating under his division. “The schools must have sent their vehicles to workshops for the mandated structural alterations,” he pointed out. Asked about the inspection procedure, he said the buses and vans must be first produced before the flying squad inspector and then before the RTO and inspector of the division concerned. “Some four or five are coming to us and we are issuing a fitness certificate after inspecting the compliance level,” he added.
