"Safe Transport"... First Gate on the Education Road (1-2)

School buses... Bullying and overcrowding, and the alternative is "unsafe"

School transport faces several problems, which students’ parents attribute to poor supervision of buses, and school administrations’ tendency to profit at the expense of students’ safety, noting that they deliberately cram in a number of “young passengers” that exceed the actual capacity of the bus, or the number of seats in it.

Parents of students confirm that their children are exposed to cases of bullying from their colleagues, as a result of crowding on the bus, warning of the growing phenomenon, and its profound effects on the hearts of children.

While other students’ parents said that they concluded verbal agreements with drivers of private vehicles to transport their children to their schools and return them from them, in return for a specified monthly or weekly amount, despite acknowledging that this option involves risks.

They added that what prompted them to resort to this option is the exaggeration of the transportation fees that school administrations demand from them, or the distance of their residential areas from the school's location.

The Emirates Child Protection Association called for reviewing the UAE Federal Standard for School Transport, updating it in accordance with the best international and local practices, including standards, legislation and requirements, and generalizing their application to the means of transport concerned with transporting children (under 18 years), whether for school transport, or Quran memorization centers, Or sports and cultural clubs, and the like.

School transportation is one of the means that enables male and female students to reach educational institutions on a daily basis, as it is an influential process in school life and the educational process as a whole.

It is also considered the first or most important gateway to education, because it moves students from the atmosphere of family life to the path of their scientific and professional future, which they will have to continue later on.

The recent recurrence of school bus accidents, including fires, traffic accidents, and students forgetting their seats inside the buses, raised many big question marks. Fifteen students were slightly injured, in a collision between a school bus and a water tank, on the Gulf Crossing bridge. Commercial in Dubai, finally.

The accident was preceded by a few days of a school bus fire, and a bus burned in Ras Al Khaimah about two months ago.

"Emirates Transport"

"Emirates Today" sent complaints related to safety procedures in school buses, which it received from students' families, recently, to the Emirates Transport Corporation, to obtain a response from it, but it was not able to do so.

The majority of complaints centered on the binding procedures established by the institution to ensure the safety of students on school buses, and whether there are inspections or oversight carried out by the institution to ensure compliance with the specified procedures.

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