Do
you agree to travel in fully packed bus standing for whole month paying a taxi
fare amount? I guess no one of us is so stupid to make that foolish decision
but what if you don’t have any option then being fool. Everyday thousands of
students of private (so-called) schools are force to travel in high packed bus
paying handsome money for the shareholder belly.
During
a campaign launched by the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD), they
found the shocking result that private school vehicles had been carrying students
thrice their capacity, were mostly of them are as old as 40 years. The
most shocking things is that majority of Mafia Schools don’t have their own bus.
They hire all the old engine bus which is always in worried to catch their
route after dropping children.
Sushmita Sharma (name changed) student of
class 9 from so-called reputed school said that “My home is at last bus stop which is
Samakhushi. Driver and helper forced me to drop at Machapokhari saying that there
is traffic jam in Gangobhu and they are getting late for their route time. I always had to pay extra money to go by local bus from there.”
Do you think they drive slowly and safely when
they are in hurry to get their que? Children life in such bus is in dilemma. We
never know when our children gone face the accident. There is hundreds of
problem relating with this issue. Why government and concerned authorities are
quiet when public buses are used in private schools? There is no difference of
having black and red plate in the bus. If colours difference can’t make
justice.
School
are promoting old buses with low cost contract to make more money which is not only
affecting environment but also killing the lots of employment opportunities of
new driver and helper. Apart from that, we are very well known about attitude
of majority of bus driver and helper in public bus. The way the talk and behave
with the people is not digestible for us then how can we think they are taking
our children safely to school. High trend of using child labour in public buses
and those buses are been used to carry the school student can affect the
children mentality towards their future.
Furthermore,
children are prone to harassment and abuse by the helper which is never the
concern of school administration. Suman
Dangol (name changed) said that “Helper always used to ask me number of my friend;
he often used to touch her back while getting in-out of bus and try to flirt
with her too. Its not only with her, it happened with most of girls.”
Reporting
it to school administration is also useless; they can’t fire helper because
they only hire bus for few hours. Lots of school bus tries to escape saying
they send their own teacher in every bus but does he/she goes till last stop.
They don’t.
The government has formed Institutional Schools Operation Criteria Recommending Commi-ttee
(ISOCRC), a nine-member committee to develop criteria for operating private
schools and recommend on various issues related to them but as other committees
made in Nepal it’s till the tea-table and paper only. If Nepal Government and
Private Schools’ Association will not make strict policy and effective implementation
in this issue then it will create more serious problem among school going
students.
