07 June,2011 06:55 AM IST | | Kranti Vibhute
While the RTO is on a mission to stringently impose the new safety regulations on private school buses, it appears lax on imposing the same on BEST buses which ferry school kids
And you thought that the absence of speed governors on the new fleet of private school buses made them unsafe for your kids.
In the past, several BEST buses have also acted as school buses plying students to and fro
Large majorities of school going kids in the city use the services of chartered BEST buses to reach their institutions every day.
The Regional Transport Office (RTO), while coming down hard upon the private school buses to implement all the state-of-the-art safety measures, including speed governors and GPS, seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that thousands of school kids are ferried to school on ageing BEST buses every day, which fail to meet almost all the safety standards recently imposed by the government.
The number of BEST buses providing conveyance to school children has gone up in the recent past, from a modest 60 in the academic session 2009-2010, to 200 in 2010-2011 session.
While the government has been pulling up private school bus owners for failure to implement safety norms, it seems undecided over whether to impose the same regulations on the BEST buses that offer the same services.
Sunil Shinde, chairman of the BEST Committee, said, "We are following some of the norms. For example, we make sure that lady attendants are present on the buses. If the RTO asks us to implement the other safety regulations, we are ready to do so, for the sake of the students' safety. However, we haven't yet been asked to make any changes to our buses."u00a0
Officialspeak
SK Sharma, Principal Secretary (Transport and Port) Home Department, said, "The regulations are applicable for those buses which exclusively ferry students to and from their schools.
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I do not know what kind of safety regulations have been imposed on other buses, which only convey students for a short while every day. I will have to look into the matter."
A principal of a school in the western suburb said on condition of anonymity, "Our school does avail of the services provided by BEST buses.
Parents have expressed concern about the lack safety measures on these buses. But we do not know whether any such norms have been imposed on the BEST buses by the government."
Amol Dhamdhere, Honourable Secretary of the Indian Education Society, said, "Rules and regulations must be egalitarian in nature, and applicable to all. Many of our school students use the BEST buses to get to school, because the rates are cheaper.
The looming question is whether the BEST services will be offered at the same rates if and when the safety regulations are implemented in their buses.
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If the prices are hiked, then the entire purposed of the Right to Education will be defeated. Many students will fail to attend school, if transportation costs are increased, in addition to school fees."
BEST or worst?
There is a glaring disparity between the BEST buses, which ferry students, and the corresponding private buses plying in the city. BEST has only taken its 15-year-old buses off the roads, and not its 8-year-old ones.
The new fleet of private school buses purchased by several schools, on the other hand, come installed with GPS systems, hammers to break panes in case of emergency, a coat of the regulation yellow paint, emergency doors, first-aid boxes and convex mirrors.
60
Number of BEST buses carrying students in 2009-2010 session
200
Number of BEST buses carrying students in 2010-2011 session
50
A minimum number ofu00a0 students needed to register, in order for a school to be eligible for the services of BEST buses.
Comparative rates
The conveyance fees for the new private school will range from Rs 800 to Rs 1,400 per month.
The commutes on BEST buses are far less expensive, ranging from Rs 600 to Rs1,750 for a period of six months.
It's time for schools and colleges across the city to reopen for the new academic session. Keeping this in mind, MiD DAY will be bringing you a series of reports on significant issues related to the sphere of education. The stories will range from safety guidelines for school buses to the contentious issue of fee hikes. Also on the agenda will be the upcoming SSC results and the online admission procedures for educational institutions in the city. Remember, knowledge is power.
Did you know?
A BEST bus is only taken off the roads at the rickety age of 15 years
