Patna, April 17: The Bihar State Child Right Protection Commission has issued a fresh list of rules and regulations, making school authorities responsible for ensuring safety of students.

The directive issued following the school bus accident in Punpun in which a teacher dead last Friday states that schools will be held as liable as the bus driver and the vehicle owner in case of a mishap involving students.

Also, the bus owners will now have to display the phone number of the commission on their vehicles so that children travelling in them can call the commission in case of a problem. A minimum fine of Rs 5,000 will be imposed on school buses plying without a first-aid box or with an empty box.

Chairperson of the commission Nisha Jha told The Telegraph today that the fresh list of regulations is being sent to all the schools to ensure that no accident, like the one in Punpun, takes place again.

Jha said: “It’s important to ensure that all schools follow the dos and don’ts sent in February this year soon after the DAV student, Shweta Suman, was run over by her own school bus.”

Jha added: “The rear of the bus should carry a sign board stating it’s a school bus and the number of the owner should be displayed on it. This will ensure that the police while investigating any mishap will not have to waste time in tracing the owner.”

Apart from maintaining speed limit during school hours, the buses should carry the number of a fire station. A speed governor has to be installed and each and every child should get a seat in the vehicle.

Even if the school does not own a bus, it has to sign an agreement with the owner of the vehicle ferrying schoolchildren. “This, however, won’t apply to buses hired by parents for their children. The parents, in fact, will have to give in writing that the school won’t be held responsible in case of a mishap,” Jha said.