Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Monday expanded the scope of an ongoing public interest litigation on school safety in Uttar Pradesh, expressing concern over high-tension electricity lines passing over school premises and other hazards threatening students.
A Lucknow bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Brij Raj Singh directed that the managing director of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) be impleaded as a party while hearing a PIL filed by the Gomti River Bank Residents Welfare Association.
The court noted that incidents of high-tension power lines falling on school premises had been reported, posing a threat to the safety of students. It directed the additional advocate general to communicate the order to the competent authority so that UPPCL's response could be placed before the court at the next hearing.
The bench also observed that despite the pendency of proceedings on structural safety, incidents of dilapidated school buildings collapsing continued to surface. It referred to the recent collapse of the Samari Primary School building in Jaunpur district, noting that no casualties occurred only because the school was closed that day.
The court also took note of the recent death of an eight-year-old child after a heavy iron gate collapsed at a school run by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in Lucknow.
Observing that ensuring the safety of educational institutions was an urgent priority, the bench expressed hope that the state government and all concerned agencies would act with utmost seriousness to protect children.
The court also examined the safety of children travelling in school buses and vans. During the hearing, it was informed that several cases of sexual abuse of minors by school bus and van drivers had been reported, highlighting the need for rigorous background verification of drivers.
According to data placed before the court by the Transport Department, 527 of the 2,370 school vehicle drivers subjected to police verification under "Mission Bharosa" had received adverse reports. The court observed that the issue was directly linked to the safety of minor children.
The bench also took note of suggestions made by members of the Bar that schools should, wherever feasible, appoint women drivers for school vans to enhance children's safety. The additional advocate general said the proposal would be placed before the government.
The court was further informed that under Rule 222(B) of the Uttar Pradesh Motor Vehicles Rules, safety-related conditions for children should be incorporated in licences issued to private buses or agreements executed between schools and private transport operators. Similar safeguards were suggested for school vans.
During the hearing, the Lucknow Police informed the court that CCTV cameras were proposed to be installed at school entrances to enable real-time monitoring of traffic around educational institutions from a central control room.
The bench directed the authorities to submit details of the proposed CCTV installations, including the number of cameras and estimated expenditure, at the next hearing.
The court also took on record a preliminary report submitted by the Lucknow Traffic Police on the deployment of traffic marshals at schools, which classified seven schools as "good", five as "average" and five as "poor" in terms of marshal deployment.
The amicus curiae informed the court that a standard operating procedure (SOP) on school safety, being prepared with the assistance of educational institutions, was in the final stages and would be placed before the bench at the next hearing. The proposed SOP is expected to lay down uniform safety protocols for schools across the state.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.