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Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
‘Verify school bus drivers' ID, do alcohol checks every week'
Mumbai: Verify school bus drivers' background, including instances of reckless driving and past accidents before hiring. This is among the new rules listed in the latest government resolution (GR) issued by education department for schools across the state to ensure students' safety during transport. "For students using private transport, parents must inform the school management about the driver's verification and identity details. Additionally, parents should maintain personal information about the drivers for security purposes," the GR stated. Weekly drug and alcohol screening should be made mandatory for school bus drivers, cleaners, and female attendants both before the morning pickup and drop-off journeys, the GR stated. It added that school principals must ensure that drivers prevent unauthorised people from boarding buses carrying students. Govt has also asked all schools to establish an alert system to provide immediate notifications if a child is missing from school or fails to board their designated bus. As per the GR issued last week, school management must implement additional safety measures, including installing GPS in buses and conducting safety training programmes for transport staff. The GR also encourages recruitment of female school bus drivers. Swati Popat Vats, president of Early Childhood Association, said: "These points about background check, driver verification, GPS, appointment of female drivers, and weekly drug and alcohol screening, are great for ensuring the safety of children in school buses. Some additional points that should have been added are compulsory training on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and screening of their phones for 'inappropriate' content. " Bombay Scottish principal Sunita George said: "At our school, the PTA, a body more vigilant than vocal, inspects what most would overlook — the school bus. No driver pulls up to the school gate without police vehicles are discouraged — unless there's a reason that can't be walked away from." George further said that should a driver show signs of recklessness, the response is swift. "Each bus is fitted with GPS and cameras," she added. Sanjay Patil, School Principals' Association president, suggested that state govt should appoint a district committee to check drivers' details. "Some drivers hail from other states and it's difficult to get their police verification. RTO and police should help schools in such cases," Patil said. School Bus Owners' Association head Anil Garg said: "This GR has established clear accountability by stating that the school principal will be held responsible for the safety of children during transportation." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Need to help kids understand conflict, war from early age'
Mumbai: Amid tension with Pakistan, the Early Childhood Association (ECA) has recommended that parents and schools adopt the 'panchadi' approach—a five-step learning process for the foundational stage—from National Curriculum Framework 2022 to help children grasp complex concepts like conflict and war by breaking them down into simple and relatable which focuses on play-based learning , critical thinking and problem-solving, comprises 'adhiti' (introduction to a concept), 'bodh' (understanding), 'abhyas' (practice), 'prayog' (application), and 'prasar' (expansion).The ECA said children of all ages are grappling with questions, queries and anxiety about words like 'conflict' and 'war', and it is important to help them understand, cope and develop resilience. "Parents and schools must begin by telling children a simple story or fable that illustrates conflict, and then explain that conflicts happen for different reasons—misunderstandings, not listening to each other, fighting over something, or even being afraid of each other," said its president, Swati Popat-Vats. Under 'abhyas', the objective must be to encourage children to explore peaceful ways to handle conflict, she said. TNN
Indian Express
22-04-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Campus talk: Mumbai schools, parents unite to get children moving and beat obesity
In an innovative move to promote better physical health among the young generation, schools in Mumbai are encouraging parents to participate in the #MoveForHealth campaign. This initiative, launched by the Early Childhood Association (ECA) and the Association for Preparatory Education and Research (APER), aims to combat the increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the rising concern of obesity among children. As part of this campaign, parents are encouraged to have their children engage in physical activity for at least 10 minutes every hour from 9 am to 8 pm. Activities can include walking, running, jumping, or any other form of movement. Research has shown that prioritizing physical activity, outdoor play, and a healthy lifestyle can help children develop good habits and lower the risk of negative health outcomes. Schools that are members of these associations believe that implementing smaller interventions can lead to a significant difference instead of making large lifestyle changes all at once. The president of ECA and APER, Swati Popat Vats, said, 'With #MoveForHealth campaign, the idea is to make movement an integral part of children's lives with small interventions through fun activities. By participating in this campaign, schools and parents will be including a significant physical activity in children's daily lives.' ECA and APER, having combined 48,000 educators as their members across India, had floated a survey among over 10,000 parents from schools in metro cities, such as Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, to gauge children's outdoor and physical activity habits. As per the findings of this three-month-long survey, 63 per cent of children engage in less than 1 hour of physical activity per day, whereas 28 per cent have no physical activity or outdoor play in their routine. While 67 per cent have no motivation or prefer a sedentary lifestyle due to screens or other reasons, 45 per cent of children are overweight or significantly above average weight. Dr Vats said, 'During the survey, many parents shared that children use their free time on screens, leading to a sedentary lifestyle. Many parents also shared that their children preferred to be in 'temperature controlled' areas and did not like to 'sweat'. This survey is an eye opener and we urge schools and parents to help bring about change and make movement a 'fun' activity instead of a 'forced' activity so that children embrace it willingly.' The survey, which sounded alarming concerns over the lack of physical activities among young children, led to the campaign. Sangeeta Puri, principal of Children's Academy school, who is participating in the campaign, said, 'These small initiatives make a real difference. For example, in our school, we provide a timetable to students on what to bring every day in the tiffin, which is decided to ensure that children get a balanced and healthy meal. Now that school has a rule on this, children do not fight with parents for not wanting to eat healthy food.'
