The Federal National Council (FNC) now seeks the introduction and eventual launch of a unified safety system across all school buses following the tragic death of a 6-year-old boy last week after he was left alone inside a bus in Dubai.
The FNC’s Committee on Social Affairs, Labour, Population and Human Rights called on the Ministry of Education in cooperation with other government agencies to intervene and create measures to avoid any further cases of negligence of school buses and operators that may lead to the untimely demise of the kids left behind.
FNC Committee Chairman Hamad Al Rahoumi stated that among the four specific measures is to establish a stricter system at the federal level for bus drivers and conductors to have them commit to ongoing training courses, as well as the important task of checking and monitoring all kids as the board, ride, and alight each school bus.
In addition, Al Rahoumi said that there should also be a secret inspection and control system across all school buses that can aid in the reports of the driver’s commitment for the safety and security of all kids that ride the bus.
“These are people who transport our children on a daily basis but they seem not concerned or not qualified enough to ensure the safety of the lives of children,” said Al Rahoumi, as per a report from Khaleej Times.
Al Rahoumi furthered there is also need for mandatory training courses for all drivers on how to deal with children on buses and the adherence to safety requirements.
The committee chairman adds that it is their aim to ensure the safety of all children in school and to prevent more deaths in the future: “It is necessary to find a new system agreed upon by the ministry and other authorities to ensure the safety of students in school buses and prevent the death of more pupils in the future. The incidents of forgetting children in school buses are repeatedly occurring and require quick solutions.”
Al Rahoumi likewise suggested the introduction of new apps that can be used by drivers to show the arrival and departure of each kid as they go to and from their respective schools.
