Make school excursions safe

School excursions are among the most enduring memories of one’s school life. However, most schools rule out excursions these days because of the painful experiences of some of their counterparts.

Many parents and children want excursions for obvious reasons. Children enjoy travelling with their friends to places. It’s a lot different from travelling with one’s family. Excursions can be really enjoyable and educative. It’s a great learning experience. No wonder children yearn for such outings.

The sad thing, however, is that if something untoward happens, the school concerned has to endure untold hardships. There will be accusations flying thick and fast. The entire blame will come upon the school. The management and the head of the school will be made accountable for all that went wrong. Their plight would be indescribably miserable, having to defend the indefensible.

Also Read: Palakkad bus accident: Kerala HC seeks report from police, MVD

If the excursion was uneventful and everything went on smoothly, nobody would bother to appreciate those who did the job. That is the way of the world.

The recent accident involving school children who were on an excursion in Kerala was tragic: five children and a teacher lost their lives. Now there is an outrage, as it should be, about all that went wrong. The government is crying hoarse, the public is demanding the scalp of the school authorities and so on. Hindsight gives everybody the wisdom to know what should have been done.

If reports are to be believed, the driver of the tourist bus was at fault. There is a rule that mandates schools to obtain a fitness clearance of the bus and the driver by the RTO. The school had not complied. The bus was travelling at 1.5 times the permitted speed at 97.5 kmph at the time of the accident.It was at night. The Kerala government had issued an order in 2020 prohibiting road travel at night during excursions. In this case, this rule was also violated, knowingly or unknowingly.

The tourist bus was fitted with blinding lights, deafening horns and blaring sound systems. Children love dancing to the tune of upbeat songs. A film was playing at the time of the accident. Excitement was running high. The driver himself could be distracted by the melee. One child reported that some students asked the driver to slow down, but in vain.

Children sometimes egg the driver on to speed up and overtake other vehicles. Some drivers get carried away and take foolish risks. They just want to impress the youngsters. That’s a recipe for disaster, which is what happened in Palakkad on that fateful night. Six precious lives were lost. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families. How long, if at all, will it take for them to recover from this unspeakable loss?

The Kerala High Court has taken suo-moto cognisance of this incident and ordered the police to investigate who had issued a fitness certificate to the private bus in spite of fitting unauthorised add-ons. The Motor Vehicles Department has woken up. They have already confiscated many buses and slapped penalties on several others. This is very typical of our government machinery -- to act after the damage has been done. If there is a case of food poisoning, the health department will sit up. If there is an accident, the police will be up and doing things. Then they go into a slumber. Then they go into a slumber again.

Schools on their part need to be vigilant. If they organise picnics and excursions, they should take care of a few things on a priority basis.

Drowning incidents involving excursion groups are quite common. Water bodies can be a strict no-no on such occasions. Cliffs and precipices, which are tempting for selfie pictures, may lead to accidents.

Gadgets can be avoided as children with mobile phones can be a dangerous combination. Teachers accompanying children must be capable of regulating the behaviour of children.

Excursion buses should have a speed governor, and bars for windows to prevent children from putting their hands or heads out. It should have emergency doors and those sitting near such doors should be trained to handle them effectively when needed. First-aid boxes with enough fresh stock of medicines and accessories are absolutely necessary. CCTV and GPS must be there. The school can monitor the movement of the bus and keep a watch over the students.

We can do many such things to avert mishaps. Most importantly, the students and teachers should undergo an orientation on all safety and behavioural issues before they set out for an excursion. Let there be a booklet on the do’s and don’ts of an excursion. ‘Caution is the parent of safety’.

(The writer is Director, Little Rock Institutions in Brahmavar, Udupi)