Gujarat High Court seeks state govt's reply on student safety during tours

  • | Thursday | 17th January, 2019

The state government has also banned the plying of school buses used for picnics, or study tours, from plying between 11 pm and 6 am. The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state home, education, transport, and tourism department after public interest litigation (PIL) questioning the safety of students during educational tours in the absence of proper guidelines came up for hearing. He has requested the court to issue directions making it compulsory for educational institutions to seek permission from various state authorities before such a tour is organised. However, the educational institutes are not bothered about the same and the tours are organised in a haphazard manner. According to the petitioner, various educational institutions, including coaching classes, organise picnics or study tours for their students, but in the absence of proper guidelines, they do not seek any permission from concerned authorities before organising such tours.

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state home, education, transport, and tourism department after public interest litigation (PIL) questioning the safety of students during educational tours in the absence of proper guidelines came up for hearing. The PIL filed by Chhaganlal Mevada was taken up by the division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav, which immediately issued a notice to the state departments directing them to file their reply in the matter by February 13. According to the petitioner, various educational institutions, including coaching classes, organise picnics or study tours for their students, but in the absence of proper guidelines, they do not seek any permission from concerned authorities before organising such tours. He also pointed out to the court about the fatal accidents of vehicles carrying students for picnics and study tours resulting in multiple deaths, with the latest being an accident on December 22 in which 10 children were killed after a bus carrying students of a coaching centre fell into a 200-ft-deep ravine in Mahal and Baripada forest area of Dang district. Mevada has contended that most of the accidents happen due to reckless driving by the bus driver, violation of traffic rules, poor condition of the bus, overloading, and drunken driving. However, the educational institutes are not bothered about the same and the tours are organised in a haphazard manner. He has requested the court to issue directions making it compulsory for educational institutions to seek permission from various state authorities before such a tour is organised. He has appealed that it should be made mandatory for the educational institutions to get the inspection of vehicle done, avoid overloading, and conduct a thorough check of the antecedents of the driver and the conductor of the bus. Notably, in the wake of recent bus accidents resulting in the death of students, the state government on December 29, 2018, had issued a notification making it mandatory for the schools to take permission from district education officer before planning any trip or picnic. The state government has also banned the plying of school buses used for picnics, or study tours, from plying between 11 pm and 6 am.

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