Children: The Most Neglected Section in India

It’s a shame that out State Transport Department, our Enforcement Departments, our Traffic Police, our Education Departments have all FAILED to implement Hon’ble Supreme Court directions even after passage of 20 long years.

The title may lead to non-agreement but read on. We often hear people saying that all they are doing is for their children. They have no desires except for their children’s welfare. But are we really concerned about their actual issues? Are we able to give them a healthy quality of lifestyle? A few people would say that they are sending their children to the best schools and that’s exactly where the problem begins. A few people think that their duty ends with getting their children admitted in a good school charging hefty amount of fees. It is not so. A lot is wrong with these schools and we do not even realise it before it’s too late. The recent incident where a young boy of Class 2 has been murdered inside the school and another incident where a little girl of 5 years has been raped by a school guard, are most recent examples which need in-depth analysis to reach a logical conclusion and take preventive measures.

In 1997, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India issued certain guidelines to be followed by all school buses to ensure safety of school children travelling in the bus. It’s been 20 long years since then but the guidelines have not been implemented till date. It is such a poor condition when I am referring to the National Capital City. Just imaging the situation in a far-flung area of Chhattisgarh or some other state for that matter. The Central Board of Secondary Education has been issuing directions to schools to follow the said guidelines but to no effect. One such recent circular was issued on 23.02.2017 which clearly says that schools need to follow the guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court else the school might be disaffiliated by the CBSE. Still nothing has moved on ground.

The guidelines by the Hon’ble Supreme Court are exhaustive in nature and are all well-defined with a clear objective in mind. A few important ones are:

i.            Installation of Global Positioning System GPS) and CCTV in all school buses.

ii.          Arrangement should be made such that at least one parent should be present in the school bus to oversee the conduct of driver and other staff present in the bus.

iii.         School bus must have a First Aid Box and drinking water.

iv.         School bus should be fitted with speed governors with maximum speed limit of 40km/ph.

v.           School buses should not be fitted with curtains or glasses having films.

vi.         Activities inside the school bus should be visible from outside whenever the bus is plying on road. (A lot of school buses in Delhi are of such a design that nothing inside is visible from outside. Their glasses are quite high from ground level.)

vii.        Whenever a contract carriage is used for carrying school children, the owner of the vehicle must give intimation to the local police station as well as the concerned traffic police authority clearly indicating the name of the driver and of the vehicle etc.

viii.      The school authority must provide one mobile phone in each school bus so that in case of emergency the school bus can be contacted.

These are just a few of the long list of direction from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India but it’s a shame that out State Transport Department, our Enforcement Departments, our Traffic Police, our Education Departments have all FAILED to implement Hon’ble Supreme Court directions even after passage of 20 long years. Our media just highlights the issue when somebody dies or some mishap occurs and we all forget it after a few days. NOBODY CARES! Let’s wait for a few children to die.