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Kerala Government issues guidelines on study tours

Special Correspondent

Destinations must have educational relevance

Thiruvananthapuram: As announced by Kerala Education Minister M.A. Baby soon after the Thattekad boat accident, which claimed 18 lives, including that of 15 upper primary students, the Government has issued orders imposing some restrictions on study tours in order to make them safe and secure.

To begin with, the school advisory PTA executive should discuss in advance and take a decision on the place selected for the tour, journey programme and the place of stay.

The peculiarities of the place and safety aspects should be looked into and if necessary advance written permission of the authorities should be obtained. Places and institutions selected for making visits should have educational relevance.

Consent letters should be obtained in advance from the parents of the students participating in the tour. It should be ensured that the health of the tour participants was satisfactory. The headmaster or senior assistant should accompany the team. The teacher-student proportion should be 1:15. If there are girl students, female teachers should accompany them in the proportion of one teacher for 15 students. In schools that have male teachers, they should also accompany the tour. Only safe vehicles should be used. Over-speeding should be checked and traffic rules strictly followed. It is the duty and responsibility of the head of the team to ensure that only the permitted number of persons is allowed to board buses, boats or other vehicles. Prior permission of the authorities should be obtained for boat journeys and tours to forests and wildlife sanctuaries. Tours should be fully avoided before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m.

The team should have with it modern communication equipment such as a mobile phone. After the tour, it should be ensured that the students joined their guardians safely. The full text of the order is available on the following websites - www.prd.kerala.gov.in and www.kerala.gov.in.

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