Following a meeting on Thursday, Purke instructed his department to deliberate upon and check various provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act. “We will verify if there needs to be any amendment in the Act that can further help secure the safety of a child. I also intend to discuss security matters at the Cabinet meeting,” he said.

From Maruti Omnis and other small vehicles operating illegally as school-vans without the required contract carriage permit to overcrowding in school-buses and long journeys for kindergarten children, Monday’s tragedy raised several doubts on how safe school children’s transportation is.

Purke admitted that parents need to be given information on the kind of vehicles that are permitted to ply as school-vans and the mandatory safety measures inside these vehicles. The minister said all such information regarding private vehicles and various issues that need to be considered when schools allow such vehicles will be given to heads of institutions, with help from the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs).

However, Purke also insisted that a more proactive role must be played by parents. “It’s also the parents’ responsibility to ensure the safety of their children. They too must ensure that the vehicle the child is travelling in is secure and has the necessary permits,” emphasised Purke.

Principal Secretary (School Education) Sharwaree Gokhale agreed: “A child’s safety is primarily the parents’ responsibility. They should, and they have every right to, keep a tab on schools regarding the safety of the ward. They must be active and find out if rules are being flouted.”

What happens within the school premises is the real responsibility of a school, she said. “I won’t compromise on a child’s security within the school. But I won’t issue any guidelines, because it’s given that the school will take care of its students within the premises.” She said outside the school premises, the role played by the transport officials is crucial.

On the issue of long distances that some children travel to reach kindergarten classrooms, both Purke and Gokhale said parents have the right to choose a school irrespective of factors like distance. “The US has school districts and preference is given to children who reside in that jurisdiction. We don’t have such rules in India and in my opinion we shouldn’t,” said Gokhale. “We are a free country and it’s a matter of parents’ aspirations and the desire to choose the best school. Who are we to dictate that they shouldn’t opt for a particular school because it’s far from their home?” she questioned.

Meanwhile, educationist J N Kayarkar emphasised that instead of waiting for such “unfortunate incidents to wake one up”, schools, parents and transport officials need to be more vigilant. “The onus is on all of them to prevent any kind of malpractice that compromises the life of a child. Stringent transportation rules are the need of the hour,” he said.