* Is the school or the bus contractor ensuring that the driver has a minimum of five years’ experience as a driver?

Chances are you never knew, but the state government has a detailed set of rules and regulations regarding what mandatory safety features are to be built into every child’s journey to school. For, at the end of a week which saw the death of five school children after a Maruti Omni van they were to be transported home in caught fire, Newsline did a random check of the city’s schools and found that despite the best intentions, neither school authorities nor parents are equipped with the information on what the state government’s norms are.

* The Dr S Radhakrishna Vidyalaya in Malad (W) has 23 school buses, 21 of them contracted. The school management admitted it didn’t know about the guidelines. None of the contracted buses had the words “On School Duty” displayed, nor the name of the school with contact numbers. Contractor Ajay Shinde, who has been supplying buses to schools for 13 years, accepted that he had never heard of the 2006 GR. “We have a board that mentions the name of the school but its keeps falling off,” he explained. The windows also did not have the protective grills.

School coordinator Rakhi Nair, who was also unaware of the rules, said: “Earlier, we owned our school buses but after the transport department came up with the rule that vehicles over 10 years cannot ply within the city we had to scrap them and go in for contracted school buses,” she said, adding that they never overload the bus and do keep a first-aid box in every bus.

* At the Virchand Dhanji Devsi Rashtriya Shala in Ghatkopar, none of the buses had the school name or number mentioned. Three mini-buses of the five did not even have the words ‘school bus’ mentioned.

Only one of the three mini buses stationed outside had a fire extinguisher; none had a first aid kit. Ganesh Salve, the manager of Amod Travels, which supplies five buses to two Ghatkopar schools including Rashtriya Shala, said the firm had only recently fitted a new glass and that’s the reason no ‘school bus’ board was displayed. About the first-aid kit, he said: “I guess the driver or conductor forgot to replace it after cleaning.”

Also, two drivers of the mini buses—Mayan Das and Titu Das—admitted they’ve been in the profession only for a couple of months—the GR mandates five years’ experience for school-bus drivers.

None of the buses—two full-size ones and three mini-buses—mentions the school name. “That is because we provide services to two different schools in the area,” Salve explained.

* At the R N Gandhi School in Ghatkopar, while the school name is clearly mentioned on a board on all six buses (minus school number), none had protective grills nor a first-aid kit or fire extinguisher. Principal Dr Aarti Gandhi said she checks the safety measures herself. “I am a doctor myself,” she said. “The contractor is not flouting any rules and as for the grills, the rods are enough.”

* At Podar Education Complex in Santacruz (West), some buses on contract were not following some vital regulations. The Podar Education Complex, which runs several schools including ICSE, CBSE, SSC and IB among others, operates over 65 buses, both self-owned and contracted, ferrying children to various parts of Mumbai.

The schools’ own buses complied with the rules—they had the school’s name, address, telephone number, fire extinguisher, grills and a helper to the driver. However, some of the contracted buses did not meet some requirements. For instance, one of the buses plied by Yam Travels for the Podar Schools, had neither the school’s name nor number, nor did it display a board stating “On School Duty”. Also, the bus had a single rod in place of a proper grill, with children able to lean out of the windows.

Proprietor of Yam Travels M Ali Khan said: “We do not mention the name of the school nor do we have the school’s telephone number. But all our buses have proper grills and if it’s not there in a bus, we will definitely check it.”

A bus from another contractor also had no grills, nor did it carry the school’s name or number. When contacted, Pradeep Nair who is in charge of transport operations for Podar Schools, said that the school is aware of the GR. “We will ensure that all buses follow the norms. And those which don’t have improper or no grills at all will be immediately instructed to arrange for the same,” he said.

* At Jogeshwari’s Millat High School, the site of Monday’s tragedy, rickshaws packed with children drop off children along with buses. In one, a student was even seated in the luggage space behind the seat.

Ironically, headmaster Arif Qasim, following this incident, claimed that the school authorities had stepped up action against overcrowded rickshaws and private vans ferrying the school’s students.

Of 11 school buses in the school compound at the time, none had first-aid kits or fire extinguishers. They also did not have the school name and telephone numbers displayed. While all the buses had rods along the windows, only three had grills.

However, all the buses had attendants accompanying the drivers and had ample space beneath the seats for keeping school bags. All the buses also followed capacity norms.

Headmaster Arif Qasim said: “The bus service has been approved by Millat school authorities. From the next academic year, we will give KG admission only to those students who use the bus service.”

The buses are owned by Shabbir Bus Services, an Andheri-based bus contract company offering services to Millat High School and to MA High School in Andheri. Contractor Shahid Shaikh said: “While selecting drivers we carefully study all the documents and driving licenses. One criterion is that they must have two years’ experience.” The GR states that the driver should have at least five years’ experience. Shaikh added that first-aid kits had been ordered.

* I am not aware of the government regulations but I think the school buses follow them. It is up to the driver to reach the children home safely—Shalini D’Silva, a Sahar resident whose daughter studies in an Andheri school

* We haven’t received any circular from the government. But our buses follow all the rules—they have fire extinguishers, first-aid boxes, the school’s name and telephone number, etc.—Rohit Bhatt, headmaster, Children’s Academy, Malad

* How can parents know about such matters unless they are informed by the school authorities? I do not know if bus contractors follow all the rules. But I think parents should be aware of the regulations if they are sending their children by school buses.—A Fernandes, a Santacruz resident whose daughter studies in an Andheri school

* The bus contractor has been with our school since several years. I do not know what the exact regulations are. We follow all the safety regulations and we also have a lady conductor on the bus.—Vipula Bhushan, assistant teacher of Marwari Vidyalaya at Charni road

* I do not think any bus contractor follows all the rules. But more or less, our buses follow all the safety precautions. While selecting a bus contractor, we check his credentials and also see if the drivers have adequate experience.—V Ravi, principal, Sulochana Devi Singhania High School, Thane

* I came to know of regulations like provision of fire extinguishers, first-aid kits inside the school bus only after I read some media reports. I don’t think these rules existed before but if they were then we should have been intimidated about these before.—An official of a Mahim-based school

* I knew that there would be some regulations for school buses. But I do not specifically recall when these regulations were enforced. I do not think that there is a fire extinguisher or a first aid kit in my son’s school bus—A parent

No stricter guidelines for now: Hasan

Minister of State for School Education Hasan Mushrif said that schools would be asked “not to allow private cars or motorcycles within their premises” and that instruction to this effect would be passed on to the office of the Deputy Director of School Education.

“If parents hire private vehicles, they will be allowed only after school authorities properly check them.” However, no formal circular has been issued on the matter.

Asked if the state was thinking of issuing stricter guidelines regarding transportation of children to the schools, Mushrif said: “Not at the moment. Let us first see whether the schools are following the basic rules and regulations or not.”

(Inputs from Mihika Basu, Swapnil Rawal, Jinal Shah and Upneet Pansare)