The Directorate of Collegiate Education is set to issue fresh advisory to colleges in Kerala urging extra caution in the selection of buses for excursions.
The move comes in the wake of the tragic accident in Palakkad in which nine persons, including five students, were killed after a speeding tourist bus engaged by a school in Ernakulam for an excursion rammed a KSRTC superfast bus on Wednesday midnight.
“The existing circular about the guidelines while organising excursions from educational institutions will be yet again circulated among colleges in the wake of the accident. College authorities will be asked in no uncertain terms not to cede to the preference of the students in the choice of buses that do not match the guidelines,” said V. Vigneshwari, Director, College Education.
The accident had triggered debate over whether students exercised disproportionate say in the selection of buses, because of which those with excessively illuminated dancefloor-like interiors and high-decibel sound systems were often engaged for tours. The tourist bus involved in the accident also fit that bill.
However, the management of Baselios Vidyanikethan Senior Secondary School, Vettickal, Mulanthuruthy, which lost five students and a teacher in the accident, insisted that students were not involved in the selection of the bus. “Buses of the same operator had been engaged for school excursions in the past. The buses are arranged by the principal and the school management,” said Kuriakose George, school manager.
Ms. Vigneshwari said that while students often take the initiative in organising the tours, teachers can either cancel buses with excessive illuminations and high-decibel sound systems preferred by students or ask to remove all such extra fittings before it is allowed to operate. “To our knowledge, colleges are by and large doing that,” she said.
Indira Rajan, Secretary General of the National Council of CBSE Schools, said that when it comes to CBSE Schools, school management committees with representatives of parents, teachers and the management make the arrangements for excursions, leaving little to the students. She said there was reluctance on the part of schools to organise excursions because of the obvious risks involved and that the latest accident is likely to add to it.
Honey G. Alexander, deputy director of education, Ernakulam, said students’ preference over their safety should be no reasoning to fall back when it comes to the selection of buses for excursions. “In fact, not just school authorities but also parents should actively involve in such matters,” she said.
