SOLEMN MOOD: Ramamurthy and Yashoda, parents of Suchith Bhargav, who was killed in an autorickshaw accident recently, attend a meeting being addressed by Collector Arvind Kumar in Hyderabad on Tuesday . - Photo: Satish H.

HYDERABAD: School managements in the twin cities have been asked to submit school-wise action plan and explanation in case they are not willing to comply with the Government directive to arrange Education Institutional Bus (EIB) facilities for at least 80 per cent of their students by the end of this year.

Notices were earlier issued to all schools making it mandatory for them to arrange EIBs for at least 50 per cent of their students by November 15, 2005 and for at least 80 per cent of students by December 30 this year. Failure to comply would result in punitive action under Section 133 of the Criminal Penal Code.

The schools, while arranging for EIBs would have to stick to RTA stipulations, tie-up with the APSRTC or utilise the services of private operators.

They are also required to have school traffic cadets who are trained by the Traffic Police, District Collector Arvind Kumar said while addressing a `Child safety meet' with school managements here on Tuesday.

Objections raised

However, with some schools raising objections saying they had several students coming on foot, Mr. Kumar suggested school-wise action plan to explain why the notice could not be implemented and also with address particulars of students who did not need EIBs. If a school did not submit its action plan before November 15, it would be assumed that the notice was implemented and action would be taken in case of non-compliance, he said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of over 500 schools. The parents of Rithika and Suchith Bhargav, whose tragic deaths triggered off debates over child safety in the city, were also present.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) A.K. Khan said that the Traffic Police, which had only 1,100 constables, had already posted 613 of them near schools. Educating students on basics of traffic safety and a mobile exhibition on the same would be initiated shortly, he said.

Measures suggested

Earlier, the Collector proposed a slew of measures to ensure child safety. These included staggered timings for primary and higher sections, reduced timings (ideally five hours) for primary sections, differential timings for morning too between primary and secondary sections, a compulsory five-day week for primary sections, a rational proportion between school strength and school area and a strict adherence to this, a district-level parents' monitoring committee and sufficient parking areas within school premises. Another significant proposal Mr. Kumar put forward was a debate on the weight of the school bag for children in primary sections.

Secretary (School Education) P. Krishnaiah, RTC Hyderabad Regional Manager C. Panduranga Murthy and the District Education Officer S. Jagganath Reddy also spoke.

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