District Transport Officer (DTO) Sanjeev Kumar on Friday asked the authorities of private schools in the State capital to hold meetings with parents and convince them to send their children to school only by school buses or private vehicles owned by guardians. The direction was given in a bid to control the rampant use of unauthorized vehicles in ferrying children to schools and back in the city, Kumar said.

“All School Management Committees (SMCs) should hold meetings with parents of children studying in their schools and convince them against the use of unauthorized vehicles for ferrying children to school,” said Kumar, adding that the school authorities must encourage the use of school buses by children for coming to school and going back home.

Kumar chaired a meeting with SMCs in Ranchi on Friday and asked them to spread awareness about the road safety norms among parents. “The lack of awareness among parents about the road safety norms and the risks involved in sending their children to school by unauthorized vehicles is at the root of all the problems,” he said.

Last year, Ranchi Police also wrote to schools across city and asked them to prohibit the use of auto rickshaws and vans for ferrying children from home to school and back. While the District Administration has been holding regular drives to tighten to noose around such vehicles that illegally ferry children to school, a clampdown has also been initiated on school buses that are flouting norms.

According to figures with  police, around 18,000 children travel by 400 odd school buses in the city every day.  District Administration has in the past run several drives to catch hold of drunken school-bus drivers.

 “The school administration has to see if the bus driver and the conductor are mentally fit to do their duty. The buses have to follow the pollution norms and keep all the papers up to date,” Kumar said.

The schools have to also ensure that the buses have basic facilities such as first aid box, proper seats, medicines and fire extinguishers. Overloading of buses will also be punishable under the Motor Vehicles Act and will lead to a heavy fine on the school administration, sources present in the meeting said. 

Most of the unauthorized vehicles used for ferrying children to schools are either three-wheelers or four-wheelers. Sources said that most of these vehicles, used as substitute for buses, do not have a commercial registration and other necessary documents for being eligible to ferry school students.