Educational institutions of Margao and surrounding areas had been asked to prepare a plan for their respective schools and colleges to put effective road safety measures in place for smooth traffic flow. Issues of double parking, transportation of children in overcrowded and unauthorized vehicles and accidents near educational institutions remain areas of concern. With the new academic year set to commence tomorrow, Monday June 5, these issues should have been addressed by the authorities concerned along with other stakeholders. It is learnt that schools in Salcete are yet to constitute children transportation panels. It is pertinent to note that the director of education had in August 2022 issued a circular mandating every school to constitute the Children Transportation Committee in order to ensure safe transportation of school children. The circular had requested all heads schools to submit a compliance report in the matter to the Education Directorate by September 2022 for onward submission to the Directorate of Transport. It is in the interest of the schools that the panels are instituted. The Children Transportation Committee has to look into matters like verifying documents of vehicles transporting children. The committee is to be headed by the Principal or the Headmaster of the school and have one parent-teacher association representative, traffic inspector of the area, inspector of motor vehicles, education inspector, bus-owners among other stakeholders. There are several private cars, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, mini-buses transporting the school children. At times a parent is seen carrying even three children on the two-wheeler. Rickshaws are seen transporting several children to school. This can prove very dangerous. The scene outside schools before the start and at the end of schools can be very chaotic. One can understand parents accompanying little children to school who could be throwing a tantrum on the first day of school. But older students need to travel by the school bus. All chaos can be avoided if children use the school bus. School buses are the most preferred and frequently used transportation system for the students. Even if the parents could drive their children to and from the school on their own, they should choose school buses over their cars. The reason being the safety a school bus provides to the children. A school bus can accommodate around 50-100 students at once. That means parents need not pick up and drop off their children separately in their private cars, and there will be less number of vehicles outside the schools. School bus transportation contributes positively to reducing the traffic. Safety of the students should be of prime concern for parents since the number of vehicles on the roads has increased manifold.
