When a pupil takes the wrong school van home

 

Some schools have set up WhatsApp groups to coordinate with buses and vans ferrying pupils from schools.

KUALA LUMPUR: News of children returning home late or boarding the wrong school van, especially among pupils who have just entered school, often occur despite not receiving extensive media coverage.

Only when a child fails to return until evening and is reported missing will it be reported or go viral on social media.

On March 30, an eight-year-old girl was reported to have boarded the wrong school van and was later found near a residential area in Bandar Tun Razak.

This has raised many questions about the safety of the little ones when returning from school.

Alliance for Safe Community chairman Lee Lam Thye said parents and teachers play a role in teaching children about their safety.

“The question arises as to who is responsible for these children once they leave the school compound.

“This is a big problem as we can’t assume that police officers will be outside to monitor.

“It is impossible to rely on police officers to monitor everything outside the school compound. For me, the most important aspect is prevention through education and awareness.

“Schools should also raise the level of awareness among students when they leave the school compound. They must be careful and not talk to or follow strangers.

“They need to board a bus or van and must know which one to board,” he said.

Lee also suggested that the school increase the level of security by installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to facilitate the monitoring of students’ movements outside the school fence. This will prove useful should something undesirable happen.

Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Melawati headmaster Aznam Mohamed said coordination between the school, parents and the community was very important to ensure safety of the children.

He said his school had developed an orderly system to control the movement of students when leaving the school, especially for Year One, Two and Three pupils.

“Pupils using vans to go home will be gathered in groups, according to their respective vehicles. The school has a list of names for the vans pupils are using to go home.

“I have also created a special WhatsApp group for school vans. The drivers will enter their vehicle registration numbers.

“Once the teacher on duty receives the information about the van, he will arrange for the children to be taken out of the school gates to be picked up by the van drivers. This prevents undesirable incidents.”

Aznam shared his experience when one of the students suddenly went “missing”.

The driver of the van quickly informed the school via WhatsApp that the student had mistakenly boarded his van. His fast action helped many parties, especially the child’s parents not to panic or worry.

National Parents and Teachers Association (PIBGN) Consensus Council chairman, Ali Hasan said the safety of children should remain the main responsibility of parents.

They should not depend on the school alone to ensure safety of their children, he said. - FMT