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Educators and road safety experts have emphasised that parents must prioritise their children's safety over financial considerations and ensure that any facility used by their children is “certified fit for use” by relevant authorities.
The word of caution follows the recent incident after a seven-year-old boy died in a locked car in Sharjah.
The boy who was a student of Ibn Sina School remained confined in the car for a few hours before he was found dead in the vehicle on Monday.
The lady who was dropping him off at school was hired by his parents to drop and pick him up along with other children.
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Following the incident, Khaleej Times reached out to educators and road safety experts to understand how schools can oversee the alleged use of illegal transportation by parents, often justified by cost and longer travel times.
Punit MK Vasu, CEO, The Indian High Group of Schools, said, “The regulatory authorities are very clear in encouraging schools to only hand over children to private transport attendants who are fully approved and certified."
"We guide parents on the dangers of using unregulated services and in extreme instances work together with the relevant authorities to encourage the parent to temporarily pick up the child from the school. This may be a tad inconvenient in the short term, but will in the long term ensure that private operators streamline their operations and work within the code book of the regulatory authorities without any compromise.”
When schools were asked about reducing transportation expenses to make the school bus service more accessible to parents, educators stressed that the cost of school transportation remains high due to inherent expenses.
Davison stressed, “A school bus is an extremely safe and secure way of commuting for children. It’s orderly, with stringent monitoring processes and permits. People are trained and authorised. They are held accountable for their actions. So, they show a high sense of responsibility.”
She added, “Illegal transportation means people handling school children are unaware of the safety procedures, they do not have proper documentation and approvals and many times are not even well mannered due to poor educational values.”
However, a few educators pointed out they’re committed to exploring avenues to make school transport both secure and cost-effective.
Johnson added, “Making school transportation more affordable is indeed a significant step toward ensuring that all students have access to safe and reliable transport. We are continually looking into ways to keep our school transport safe but affordable thus making school buses a preferred option for more families, thereby reducing the chance that parents will consider the use of unregulated services.”
Educators highlighted that this can also be done by maintaining close communication with parents about approved transportation methods and by regularly verifying the credentials and legality of transportation providers.
Lisa Johnson, Principal, American Academy for Girls said, “It's crucial to ensure that all transport services used by students are licensed and meet government-mandated safety regulations and beyond.”
In authorised school buses, drivers and nannies are trained to conduct thorough checks of the bus before locking and leaving it. School leaders stressed that drivers and attendants of school buses are repeatedly subject to the most rigorous of checks.
CCTV cameras secure the safety of the students inside the buses. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) training protocols are meticulously maintained and records are subject to thorough scrutiny.
“They (attendants) are instructed to walk through the bus to ensure all students have disembarked at their respective stops, and to look for any left-behind items or students who may have fallen asleep or are hiding,” added Johnson.
Headteachers reiterate while it could be a challenging scenario, children can be taught basic safety skills such as having emergency contact numbers available and at hand.
“They can learn how to verbally assert themselves in uncomfortable situations, and be taught basic knowledge of how vehicle doors and windows operate. For younger children, regular drills and simple instructions on what to do if they ever find themselves alone in a vehicle can be life-saving,” added Johnson.
School leaders highlighted parents and schools can teach children to take on the responsibility for their fellow passengers.
Vasu added, “We talk to students to remain alert about their friends and peers who travel along with them in the bus. It is a form of leadership - taking responsibility for fellow passengers. Student bus monitors normally know the stops of most students and will call out a child’s name when the bus nears the stop. So, it is a manner of collective responsibility and taking care of each other.”
Some schools emphasise their practice of contacting parents via mail or phone if their child is absent from class without the parent having notified the school of the absence.
Shiny Davison, Principal, The Indian Academy, Dubai said, “A mail goes to parents when ‘Absent’ is marked against a child’s name. In some cases where a child is frequently on leave, personal calls are made to parents. The connection between the parent and school must be strong so that we remain aware of absenteeism in classes.”
Meanwhile, road safety experts in the UAE stressed that the main responsibility of keeping their children safe and choosing the right mode of transportation for their child lies with the parents.
Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director at RoadSafetyUAE.com said, “Parents must realize that safety is above money. They know whom they contract to transport their children to and from school. The wellbeing of their loved ones must be the number one priority. Parents must do the needed due diligence before they entrust their children to a transport provider.”
Edelmann reiterated that school bus operators train their drivers and attendants on an ongoing basis.
They have the technology and the protocols in place to make sure no student is left behind in a school bus.
He suggested schools could possibly at the beginning of terms - engage with parents and raise awareness on only using licensed transport operators.
“For schools it might be difficult to spot unlicensed operators, but certainly spot checks should be conducted.”
He explained that schools could also engage with parents at town hall meetings or in teacher-parents events and all forms of communication, “like stands in drop-off /collection areas, posters in hallways, email communication, social media, and more.”
Some procedures that schools in the UAE follow:
Here is a video which explains the technology + protocol of the 'Shutdown Safety Procedure':
Children must be trained to escape a locked car. Popular guide website Wiki How details a three-part process on being able to get out of a car.
Courtesy Thomas Edelmann
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