Delhi Government Orders Safety Audit Of All Vehicles Ferrying Children To Schools

Delhi government on Thursday ordered a safety audit of all vehicles, including buses and auto-rickshaws, used for ferrying children to schools.

This comes after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said the focus of school authorities drifted away from ensuring safe transportation for children ever since they reopened in April after remaining shut for two years due to the Covid pandemic. 

In a letter to the heads of all schools in the national capital, the Directorate of Education (DoE) highlighted the observations of the NCPCR and asked deputy directors of education (DDEs) in all districts to conduct a safety audit of vehicles ferrying school children and disseminate the manual on safety and security of children in schools.

"All deputy directors of education (districts) are hereby requested to conduct the safety audit of all government, government-aided and private unaided recognised schools by using safety checklist and to disseminate the manual on safety and security of children in schools," the letter read.

Further, the DDEs have been asked to submit the consolidated comprehensive compliance report at the earliest. Twenty-one children had a narrow escape after their school bus caught fire in north west Delhi's Rohini last week.

-With PTI Input