Install CCTV cameras with GPS in all school buses within one month: Madras high court

Chennai: The Madras high court has directed the Commissioner of Transport to issue necessary instructions with regard to installation of CCTV cameras with GPS in all the school buses as mandatory, to the private schools including CBSE, ICSE etc., and implement the same within one month.

 A division bench comprising Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the directive on a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate S.Gopi Krishnan, which sought a direction to the authorities to make it mandatory, installing CCTV cameras with GPS in all the school buses, plying in the state, from this academic year.

 When the case came up for hearing, government advocate produced a copy of the proceedings of the Director of School Education dated July 22, 2019.

 The proceedings of the Director of School Educa-tion addressed to the Principal Secretary, School Education Department and the Commissioner of Transport, among other things stated that the high court in its interim order dated July 11, 2019 had observed that right to education also means right to health and hygienic, fire safety, building safety and transport precautions in the school as well and directed that installation of CCTV camera with GPS in the educational institutions buses owned or hired by the schools for transporting children, has to be taken up by the Secretary to Government, School Education Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.

 In view of the direction of the high court and in order to ensure safety and security of children inside the school buses also, the instructions were issued. 1) Arrangement of CCTV camera and Global Positioning System (GPS) should be made compulsorily in each school bus owned or hired by the school. 2) It shall be ensured by the management of the school that the CCTV camera and GPS installed inside the school bus were kept in good working condition at all times and 3)The movement of the school bus should be closely monitored by the school management in a control room provided in the school premises.    

The proceedings also stated that necessary instructions should be given to all the private schools including CBSE, ICSE etc., in this regard.

Recording the proceedings of the Director of School Education, the bench gave the above directive.

In his PIL, Gopi Krishnan submitted that he has two school going children and they are going by school bus. An English daily in its edition dated February 2, 2019 published a news item that in Coimbatore a private school vandriver and cleaner were arrested for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl inside a bus near Mettupalayam on January 29, 2019. This incident prompted him to file the present PIL in order to safeguard the interest of the school going children.