After the nerve-wrecking incident of Gujrat school van that took precious lives of at least 16 smiling kids, the Sindh government has banned the use of substandard LGP and CNG cylinders in the school transport aimed at pick and drop facility to the school goers, Pakistan Today has learnt through knowledgeable sources.
Besides, the transporters will be allowed to do pick and drop job after taking fitness certificate from the provincial transport department after physical and scientific verification of the cylinders – LPG or CNG – installed inside their vehicles, well-placed sources said.
After the tragic incident in Punjab’s Gujrat city, it has been noticed that the parents had started pick and drop facility at their own. This shift has been attributed to the substandard and rough driving of the vans. However, under a new mechanism introduced, the van driver/operator is bound to get a fitness certificate and to submit it to the school management, the sources added.
In this regard, Additional Chief Secretary (Education) Dr Fazalullah Pechuho recently chaired a high-level meeting which was also attended by the officials of directorate of private schools/institutions, association of all private schools and the transport department officials.
It was agreed in the meeting that a fitness certificate was a must for van operators and a copy was also mandatory to be submitted with the school administration so that prompt action could be taken in case of any negligence, the sources added.
Moreover, the Sindh’s education department will also write to the ministry of petroleum and ogra which is responsible for maintaining quality of LPG and CNG cylinders in vehicles to ensure timely checking of the cylinders and take stern action against those having the substandard cylinders installed in their vehicles.
When contacted, a senior official at the directorate of private institution, Rafia Mallah, told Pakistan Today that the education department had forwarded letters to all the schools with a direction to demand a fitness certificate from the van operators. “The implementation on this decision will be ensured strictly as it could ensure safety and security of the innocent school goers,” she added.
