FROM THE EDITOR
THE safety of children as they are being transported to and from school is a matter of great concern. School buses are increasingly becoming death chambers in which school children are piled like goods on transit.
Apart from the unhygienic and compromised safety standards in many school buses, parents complain of long winded routes that exhaust young children before lessons begin.
Many private schools take advantage of the parents’ ignorance to compromise standards. The absence of a monitoring body to regulate safety standards encourages schools to break rules with impunity. Schools are expected to be service oriented organisations governed by professional ethics; not driven by profits.
Going by the Police statistics, Uganda has the highest number of people dying in road accidents in the Great Lakes region. A report presented to Parliament in 2008 reflected a steady increase in the death toll from 778 in 1990 to 2,034 in 2004, while road accidents rose from 5,674 in 1990 to 19,528 in 2006. These statistics mirror the vulnerability of road users.
In a country where road safety regulations are cumbered by implementation challenges, school children remain at the mercy of unscrupulous school operators. Schools owe children an ethical duty of care which should not be compromised for monetary gains. Compromising safety standards in school transport risks innocent lives and sets a bad example to the impressionable minds.
The safety of children is sensitive and all stakeholders should take it seriously.
Pointing accusing fingers at the education ministry or blaming it on lack of policies will not make things better. Whether schools or an autonomous body manages school transport, parents must ensure that their children’s safety is not compromised.
Even if the education ministry sets up a transport regulatory policy, it remains the parents’ right and responsibility to routinely put the school to task on safety standards.
BUS STOP GUIDELINES
Safety at the bus stop is a lesson parents often forget to teach their children, yet it could prevent injury
Step 1: Tell them to dress for the weather, get their bags and go with them to the bus stop Step 2: Their book bags should be over both shoulders. They should not have key chains dangling from their bags as they can get caught in a railing Step 3: Go to the edge of the road and tell your child to take three or four giant steps back. They should not be closer to the road than this until the bus is completely stopped Step 4: If they have to cross the road, they need to wait until the driver signals them that it is safe Step 5: If a child drops something as he gets off the bus, he should not pick it right away Step 6: Tell your child to go straight home after being dropped off.