Kerala - Kochi   

Schoolchildren have a dangerous ride

KOCHI: Autorickshaws and vans that are literally packed with schoolchildren zoom past dangerously in the city, throwing safety norms to the wind.

This has been happening even after a 10-year-old student of Bhavan’s Munshi Vidyalaya, Thiruvankulam, was thrown out off a van carrying schoolchildren at Ambalamukal on Monday, following which she died.

The national coordinator of the Childhood Disability Group under the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Dr. Abraham K. Paul said that the Academy had come up with a 15-point plan to ensure the safety and health of school students. These included steps to ensure safe transport, reducing the weight of school bags, ensuring the availability of clean drinking water and toilets and an end to the use of third-degree in schools.

“The plan was discussed with school principals in a meeting held under the chairmanship of the District Collector, five months ago. Under this, we had opposed the cramming of children inside pool vehicles that ferry them to school. This practice has been affecting the backbone and neck of children. But most parents are not very keen on reducing the number of children in autos and vans, for fear of having to pay more,” he said.

The president of the Kochi chapter of IAP, Dr. Sachitananda Kamath said the issue of overloaded pool vehicles had been brought to the notice of the Regional Transport Authorities.

“We suggested that more school buses be put in operation in different routes so that children can reach school more comfortably. The parent-teacher association of schools can do a lot in this regard, at least in the coming academic year,” he said.

Sadly, many school buses too are driven by immature drivers who indulge in rash driving.

Sources in the Motor Vehicles Department said that a good share of school buses operating in the city are very old and are pre-owned ones.

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