PESHAWAR: The transport department has given private schools a one-week ultimatum to comply with its earlier orders to present their buses for mandatory inspection, warning non-compliance will lead to the confiscation of vehicles.

In a letter to the managing director of the Private Schools Regulatory Authority (PRSA) and the chairman of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Association, the transport department said it had directed private schools to have their buses inspected and certified as roadworthy, in line with a decision made in a July 1 meeting for student safety.

“None of the private schools complied with the decision to produce their buses for inspection and not even a single vehicle was produced for the checking at the offices of the motor vehicle examiners in any of the districts of the province.

“In compliance with the decisions taken in a meeting regarding ban and fitness certification of the vehicles of the private educational institutes, this letter may be considered as the final notice of one-week expiring on August 15, 2024 to produce vehicles at the offices of the motor vehicles examiners for inspection,” it read.

Gives them one week’s time to get fitness certificates for vehicles

The letter said in case of failing to produce school buses for fitness certification, the directorate of transport along with traffic police and district administration would launch a strong enforcement campaign against the vehicles of the private schools that were not fit for roads or do not possess fitness certificates.

“The responsibility for any inconvenience caused to school students will entirely lie on the shoulders of the owners and operators of the private schools,” it said.

The department asked the PSRA and schools association to direct the privately-owned educational institutions in the province to produce buses for inspection in the offices of the motor vehicle examiners in the respective districts for the issuance of fitness certificates to roadworthy vehicles.

A transport department official told Dawn that not a single private school had thus far produced their vehicles for inspection. He said after the one-week deadline expired, the department would start impounding private school vehicles.

“The schools will be responsible for any discomfort caused to the students,” he said.

The official complained about the PSRA’s disinterest in the matter saying the association didn’t push schools to produce vehicles for inspection.

On June 24, the department set the July 31 deadline for schools to present their buses for inspection at the offices of the district motor vehicle examiners.

Official documents available with Dawn show that actually, the department had decided in December 2021 to ban the private school buses registered before Dec 2000 or with the model year of 2000.

According to them, a one-month time was granted to private educational institutions to replace those buses to ensure the safety of students.

In Jan 2022, the transport department decided that private educational institutions would share the details of their vehicles and drivers with it for examination. ‘After reviewing the documents, the department will decide whether to issue fitness certificates to the vehicles or condemn them,’ a document said.

It, however, added that the private educational institutions failed to provide any document to the transport department by that deadline.

The department held another meeting the same month and decided that the private educational institutions would present their vehicles before motor vehicle examiners for inspection, but the former again didn’t do so.

On June 6, 2022, the issue came under discussion in another meeting, which decided that the final notice of 15 days would be issued to private schools and colleges to present their buses for inspection.

“The transport department along with traffic police and district administration will issue a schedule of visits, preferably on Sunday, and will inspect vehicles on educational institutions premises and all vehicles found unfit will be confiscated,” the document revealed. It added that the transport department would approach the excise and taxation department for the cancellation of registration of the vehicles found to be unfit for use, under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965.

However, the educational institutions ignored the government directive to present buses for inspection in 2022. Transport department figures show that private schools across the province were operating about 1500 old and rickety buses.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2024