Deaths of four schoolchildren on highway: Punjab govt decides not to allow schools on highways

LAHORE: In the wake of deaths of four schoolchildren in a traffic accident on a highway in Bahawalpur, the Punjab government has decided not to allow the establishment of schools on highways and main roads and issued instructions to all the divisional commissioners, regional police officers (RPOs) and relevant departments in his regard.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal at Civil Secretariat here Monday. The chief secretary directed that signboards and cat’s eyes be installed near schools, hospitals, and parks located along highways and main roads.

He said schools would be bound to deploy four road crossing assistants under the supervision of a duty teacher at the time of opening and closure of schools. He asked the officers to carry out a survey of all private schools near highways and main roads to identify the high-risk educational institutions. He said that service roads and overhead bridges for pedestrians should be constructed wherever possible, besides making zebra crossings in front of all schools.

The chief secretary directed secretary excise to work out a policy regarding the registration of new vehicles before their delivery. He said fitness checks of light vehicles once a year and heavy vehicles twice a year would be made mandatory.

He mentioned that driving without a licence is a crime, asking the police officers to launch a crackdown on violators. The meeting also considered a proposal to increase the penalty for driving without a licence and to make it mandatory for two licence-holder drivers to drive heavy vehicles on highways.

Punjab IG Rao Sardar Ali Khan suggested conducting traffic awareness week in schools. He directed the police officers to depute traffic wardens outside educational institutions at the time of closure of schools.