Management submits report to deputy director of school education, says re-training bus drivers
The school buses of Podar group of schools did not ply on Tuesday
A day after a school bus of Podar group of schools went “untraceable” for hours as its newly appointed driver took the wrong route, the management has suspended the contractor’s services and launched an internal probe. The management also submitted a report to the deputy director of school education on the incident on Tuesday.
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On Monday afternoon, a bus transporting nearly 47 students from R N Podar (CBSE), Lilavatibai Podar and RN Podar International Schools in Santacruz to their houses was delayed by around four hours and the driver was not reachable on phone, causing panic among parents.
Podar International School at Santacruz West. Pics/Sameer Markande
Mumbai Deputy Director of School Education Sandeep Sangwe issued a show-cause notice to the school on Monday evening, asking it to submit a report. “The incident has shown the careless attitude of the school towards the safety of the students. Hence the management must act against the driver and bus contractor immediately and ensure such incident is not repeated again,” he said.
A parent on the condition of anonymity said, “Our kids were untraceable for hours and there was hardly anything the school’s transport in-charge could do. They even took time to figure out which of the three contractors that particular bus belonged to.”
Hina Shah, CEO of Anandilal and Ganesh Podar Society which runs the Podar group of schools, told mid-day, “We have suspended the driver and the services of the contractor have been stopped too. We have also taken up retraining of the remaining staff. We will ensure that no such incident will ever happen again. The bus was 1.45 hours late because of a wrong turn, traffic issues etc. It will be better if we wait for the final enquiry report.”
“When we questioned the trustees and office-bearers, we learnt that the CCTV and GPS were not functional. Both the driver and the female attendant were new and unaware of the routes. This is not just the failure of the school but of the school education department which failed to get the school bus safety guidelines strictly implemented across the school,” said Akhil Chitre, MNVS vice-president from Bandra East constituency.
“The incident at Podar was a very unfortunate one. However, we should look at it from all angles. Newly hired drivers and attendants need time to settle down. The driver should have called the management for help,” said Anil Garg, president of School Bus Owners Association, Mumbai.
Sunita George, principal of Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, said, “In our school, the Parents Teachers Association manages bus service, which helps us streamline the process. This has proven that the system will work effectively if school administration, PTA and bus contractors work together.”
4 hrs
Alleged delay in the school bus
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