The GPS project, which will be fully operational next year, is part of the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s (ADEC) comprehensive plan to upgrade the transportation requirements in order to ensure the safety and security of children on their way to school and back home.

“This project has started already and it will be fully active next year. This year, we will complete the installation and testing of the system,” Khaled Al Ansari, Infrastructure and Facilities Division Manager at the ADEC, told Khaleej Times.

The upgrade also included a plan to install surveillance cameras in school buses. But for the pilot phase, eight government schools are being selected to fit three or four of their buses with cameras.

Al Ansari said the camera installations will be carried out during the first semester break starting on December 18, during which, the project will be closely monitored.

“The ADEC will observe how parents and students are reacting to the new initiative, and will point out the limitations encountered during that period, if any. If the project proves successful, surveillance cameras will be diversified to all public school buses across the emirate,” he stated.

The ADEC has started the overhaul of the transport system after several cases of neglect and incidents of young girls being subjected to abuse and molestation by unscrupulous school bus drivers and attendants were recorded across the country.

In separate accidents in 2008 and 2009, two girls, aged three and four, died in the Capital after they were locked inside the school bus for several hours under extreme heat.

The revamping of the transportation system was a commendable move by the ADEC but a concerned parent expressed apprehension about the effectiveness of the camera if it stops recording when the bus engine is switched off.

“It will work even after the engine is switched off, for about 15 to 30 minutes,” confirmed Al Ansari.

For phase two, a SMS notification system to inform parents when their children are on the bus and on their way home, will be implemented as well.

There are currently around 1,691 school buses operated by Emirates Transport for public schools across the emirate.

Private schools

The ADEC has issued a circular to private schools recently stressing the need to meet the safety and security requirements in school buses. These include ensuring that the schools observe the student capacity regulations in buses, secure windows and provide qualified supervisors to monitor students during their travels to and from school.

The ADEC also emphasised that school name must be clearly written in Arabic on all school buses.

Yousif Al Sheryani, ADEC’s Executive Director of Private Schools and Quality Assurance, has underscored the schools’ responsibility in ensuring their students’ safety and security during travel and pick-up, either by school bus or private vehicles. He stressed the need for supervisors to monitor students at these periods.

Asked if ADEC will make surveillance cameras mandatory at private school buses, Al Ansari said: “Such issue is part of the schools transportation policy and regulation, which is under development in the Department of Transport (DoT) now.”

According to the Cabinet Decree No. 29 of 2008 on the Private Education Regulations, “any school in breach of security, safety and health conditions with regard to students or school staff shall have its licence cancelled.”

Article 5 of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Decree on Private Education Regulations also states that “the school licence shall be cancelled should the health and safety of students and staff be endangered.”

olivia@khaleejtimes.com