Why are many parents of the Chennai school going kids are highly worried now?
Posted on: 16/Sep/2023 9:29:01 AM
In Chennai, these days overcrowded autos and vans have become a common sight. Many school going kids travel in autos and vans as there is not enough availability of school owned buses and vans etc. Every day, the school students travel in the autos or vans in a precarious manner and this is causing lots of concerns for the parents.
It was highlighted by a survey conducted by Save LIFE foundation that the parents as well as the school kids were worried about the trip. Rash driving by the auto or van drivers was mentioned by about 56% of school kids.
Many students turn up late and the auto drivers have to drive very fast to reach the schools on time and this was the reason given by the drivers .This was according to a parent from Velachery in Chennai. There were no such issues when schools operated their own buses.
Reduction in the school van count:
After the Coronavirus pandemic, the school van count was brought down to 2600 as just 140 new school buses have hit the roads in Chennai. The important piece of information is that more than 91000 private autos and vans operate in Chennai to transport the school going kids.
It was later revealed by private schools that the cost of owning and maintaining a school bus or van has increased and the parents were non-cooperative when the transport fee was hiked. This has led to many schools phasing out their old buses, vans etc in the city.
Ensuring a safe commute for the school kids is very essential and the state govt must look at it from the RTE perspective. This was pointed out by Mr. Piyush Tiwari, founder and CEO of Save LIFE Foundation. He added that the state must enact laws for the safe commute of the school going children.
