DEHRADUN: Following the murder of a seven-year-old boy at the Ryan International School in Gurugram, which led to revamping of security in schools, the Uttarakhand child rights commission asked the police and transport officials, on Thursday, to ensure that only ‘police-verified’ drivers are deployed to drive school buses in the state. Expressing displeasure at the manner in which students were being ferried to schools, the commission asked police and transport departments to adhere to the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding “safe transportation of students to and from schools.”The commission officials also directed the government to ensure that any bus having a girl child has a female helper on board.According to the commission, the state is “not abiding by the SC rules properly” as a result of which several students, especially in the hills, were becoming vulnerable to accidents as well as crimes. The officials also said that any person who has been previously penalized for traffic violations, such as over-speeding, drunken or rash driving, should not be employed by school administrations.The transport department has also been asked to decide on a speed limit for vehicles ferrying school students and make speed governors mandatory in school buses. Stressing on the importance of support staff in school buses, the commission has advised recruitment of conductors, according to Rule 17 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1973.They also said that kindergarten kids will have to be transported back to their respective schools in case guardians were unavailable to pick them up at the bus stop.The chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Yogendra Khanduri, said, “Miscreants take advantage of students outside school premises. This is why police verification of all staff, especially drivers, should be done.”

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