KOCHI: It might be a tough reopening day for the parents of many students studying in various schools in the district since non-compliance to the Motor Vehicle Department’s (MVD) directive regarding fitness certificates may force nearly half the buses and vans to stay off the road. As per an order issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), all public vehicles, including school buses and vans, have to be installed with a tracking system. The MVD Kerala had directed all the educational institutions to get their vehicles fitted with the system in order to receive a fitness certificate.
According to Joji P Jose, Ernakulam RTO, vehicles without fitness certificates will not be allowed to ply. “Every public transport vehicle has to be fitted with the GPS tracking system as directed by the MoRTH. There will be no leniency. Action will be taken against those not complying,” he said. With the deadline nearing, schools are scrambling to get their vehicles installed with the tracking system.
“Earlier, the state government had come out with a notification making GPS tracking system mandatory in all Educational Institution Buses (EIB) from October 1.
However, the deadline was extended to April 1 following representations made by various school managements,” said the representative of a company entrusted with fitting of the GPS system. The schools got yet another leeway when the Education Minister agreed to extend the date to June 1. However, confusion over the GPS system persisted and schools hoped to get a respite in the form of a stay, said the representative.
“Now, all of them are rushing to install the system in their vehicles. However, all the vehicles won’t make the deadline since a lot of time is required to install the system,” he said. There are over 23,000 vehicles being operated by schools. Of these, around 9,000 are owned by CBSE schools while the rest belong to the aided, unaided schools and colleges. A huge number of vehicles are run by private parties.
The GPS tracking system is being made mandatory to curb rash driving by drivers of school buses.
The system will also enable tracking of the vehicle thus ensuring the safety of children. A panic button is also being installed in the buses. This will ensure that help reaches on time in cases of emergencies.