The first post on this blog is on the matter of buses... Seeing that our children get to and from school in a safe manner is a matter of great concern to us all, and the situation on some of the routes is far from satisfactory.
Pallavi Sen, a parent on Route MIS-11 has written in to raise this issue. " Buses are overcrowded to the extent that apart from cramming 3 students (along with their heavy school bags) on seat meant for two, there are children squatting in the aisle, getting stamped by the standing students, as well as students sitting on each others laps in the hot summers. The Bus in which my daughter travels (MIS-11) has 89 students apart from the conductor & the teacher crammed in. I understand that there are a couple of other buses with an even worse situation with 90+ students in a bus.. This is not only a torture for the students but also a serious safety hazard."
A request has been made to DTC to sanction additional buses, and has been followed up as well, but the DTC officials say they do not have any buses available, and that "there is no question of sanctioning any additional buses to the school". And as we know, the charges for transport have just been increased...
In these circumstances, it is necessary for us to find alternate solutions. Writing a letter to the Principal is easy, but let us have some suggestions also. Shall we try out non-DTC solutions? Would that be acceptable? How many routes have buses with more than 70 students in the bus? 80?
Please write in. Also, I would be most grateful if you can bring this blog to the notice of every parent you are acquainted with.... word of mouth is the fastest way to spread the information, and its important that we all connect. Thanks!
Pallavi Sen, a parent on Route MIS-11 has written in to raise this issue. " Buses are overcrowded to the extent that apart from cramming 3 students (along with their heavy school bags) on seat meant for two, there are children squatting in the aisle, getting stamped by the standing students, as well as students sitting on each others laps in the hot summers. The Bus in which my daughter travels (MIS-11) has 89 students apart from the conductor & the teacher crammed in. I understand that there are a couple of other buses with an even worse situation with 90+ students in a bus.. This is not only a torture for the students but also a serious safety hazard."
A request has been made to DTC to sanction additional buses, and has been followed up as well, but the DTC officials say they do not have any buses available, and that "there is no question of sanctioning any additional buses to the school". And as we know, the charges for transport have just been increased...
In these circumstances, it is necessary for us to find alternate solutions. Writing a letter to the Principal is easy, but let us have some suggestions also. Shall we try out non-DTC solutions? Would that be acceptable? How many routes have buses with more than 70 students in the bus? 80?
Please write in. Also, I would be most grateful if you can bring this blog to the notice of every parent you are acquainted with.... word of mouth is the fastest way to spread the information, and its important that we all connect. Thanks!
Posts
5 comments:
I am not sure but will the school authorities allow private vans to transport students in this scenario ?
Ash, clearly when so many parents are worried, we need to give some solutions.
1. DTC cannot or will not give more buses.
2. Most parents would not like more than 65-70 children in a bus.
What does one do?
I would then request you to kindly take up the matter to school authorities and request that they should allow involvement of private buses/vans for transportation purpose.
I will do that. However, not vans. RTV are simply not safe, and I don't think most parents would want that option.
Thanks Pallavi for bringing up the issue related to buses. MIS17 invariably reaches the school late in the morning (8:10a.m.) and is normally the first one to leave the school premises (2:00-2:05p.m.),with or without all the children. Buses are packed and at times drivers do drive rashly. There are times when the buses ply without any teachers present. Safety is a matter of concern. Have spoken to the authorities but to no avail.
Ruchi
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