(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat -
As the new academic year begins, the ROP has called on school bus drivers to abide by traffic laws to ensure the safety of students.
Sources at the ROP said that in order to enhance traffic safety for school students, police patrolling will be strengthened near schools, traffic will be monitored and violations will be curbed.
'School bus drivers should also make sure that buses are empty at the end of each journey to avoid suffocation incidents. Only five minutes are enough for a child to suffocate, if left in a closed bus parked, during high temperatures,' an ROP official said.
The ROP has urged regular maintenance of school buses to rule out technical and mechanical failures, including vehicle fires. 'Student safety is everyone's responsibility. Parents, bus drivers and school supervisors should be careful not to compromise on any aspect of children's safety,' the official said.
The official also added that special care should be accorded to younger children who do not understand the risks. So, it is important that parents, bus drivers, faculty and those assigned student safety duties should keep their ears and eyes open.
Meanwhile, Muscat Municipality has also embarked on efforts to impose health safety regulations in schools. 'Food control at the Directorate General monitors the situation of school canteens and emphasises the importance of food preservation in the health interests of children,' the municipality said.
The Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) also has stringent measures in place to avoid exploitation of customers buying educational supplies. PACP is intensifying inspections at markets, libraries and shops selling stationery items.
Ziad al Wahaibi, director of Consumer Protection Department at Seeb, said that his department has formed working groups of officers to survey the prices of commodities especially school supplies in the market at present. 'The officers are working in intensive schedules to monitor any exploitation by suppliers to provide maximum service to protect consumers from fraud,' he said.
He also called on consumers to report any fraudulent activity in the market through its various communication channels. Thousands of schoolchildren from public schools will start their academic year from Sunday.
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