School buses in Ranchi are violating norms with impunity (flie picture on top). An overloaded auto-rickshaw carries students to school in the city. Picture by Srinivas

May 5: Children jostling for space in school vans and auto-rickshaws have once again become a common sight here in steel city, with authorities turning a blind eye to the directives of the Jharkhand Education Tribunal (JET) on safety of students.

The tribunal had directed deputy commissioners to ensure strict compliance of regulations regarding vehicles carrying children. But a survey by The Telegraph brought to light the fact that most drivers of school vans and auto-rickshaws are flouting the norms blatantly, with school authorities doing precious little to abide by them.

A driver of a Maruti van carrying about 20 children from the Beldih Church School sped away when The Telegraph team tried to take a photograph. ?The rule is meant for all. Why should I be singled-out? There are numerous school vans and auto-rickshaws, which carry children more than the specified limit,? said Mohammad Azim, the driver of the Maruti van.

Similarly, students dangling out of school vans and auto-rickshaws are a common sight near the schools. Some of the auto-rickshaws were found to be carrying about eight students, including the adult ones. But, as per the regulations of JET, the permissible limit of carrying children in auto-rickshaws is six.

The recent guidelines issued by the JET calls for baggage space below the seats in school buses to replace overhead racks. They also make it mandatory for the teachers to escort the students at the time of dismissal of school. The guidelines were applicable to both government-run institutions as well as private educational institutions. But it was found that none of the schools could follow the norm, said a teacher escorting the students at the time of dismissal of the school.

Moreover, it was found that the school buses lacked proper first-aid boxes, which was mandatory as per the JET guidelines. A principal, reluctant to be quoted, pointed out that while the Motor Vehicles rule allow up to 64 passengers in buses with 52 seats, the rule is applicable to adults.

?Given the present situation, it would not be viable,? he claimed, ?to maintain the service with just 52 students.? He admitted that the schoolchildren in the city are still compelled to travel in overloaded vehicles. For this he blamed the parents. ?It is the primary responsibility of the parents to ensure their children travel in a vehicle which is not overloaded. If all the parents join hands, the overloading menace could be controlled to a significant extent,? pointed out Mita Jakhanwal, principal of Narbheram Hansraj English School.

Sources in the district administration said that though the district education officer (DEO), Ratan Kumar, at a meeting of school authorities a fortnight ago gave necessary directives to control ?overloading? of vehicles, it failed to make any headway.

Deputy commissioner of East Singhbhum Nitin Madan Kulkarni, who is the enforcing authority, said efforts are being made to put a blanket ban on overloading of vehicles.

?We are constituting a task force to tackle the overloading menace. Once the schools reopen after summer vacation, we will try to implement the JET directives in an effective manner,? said Kulkarni, adding that vehicles found to be flouting the rules would be seized.

In the state capital, however, the district administration has gone ahead and served showcause on four prominent schools for operating buses in violation of a Supreme Court judgment and JET directives.

The administration, which was carrying out surprise checks on school buses, has found Delhi Public School, Bishop Westcott Girls? School, Bishop Westcott Boys? School and Surendra Nath Centenary guilty of violating the rules and asked them to explain why legal action should not be taken against them.

However, at least two schools ? DPS and Surendranath Centenary ? said they haven?t received the showcause, though the administration has issued a press release to the media, which, they said, lend credence to their claim that rules are not communicated properly.