Edu dept asks jr colleges to make students wear helmet

Nagpur: Traffic cops’ campaign against erring drivers has got the support today from the education department which controls junior colleges where a majority of the first time drivers, usually without helmet, abound. Anil Pardhi, deputy director of education (Nagpur Division), has decided to issue a circular to junior colleges asking them to check for a valid licence along with helmet whenever students’ drive on to campus.
Pardhi said, “Colleges will be asked to keep an eye on such drivers and take strict action the mistake is not repeated. Parents need to get involved and so do educational institutes because ultimately this is for the youngsters’ safety.” The circular is expected to reach junior colleges by Monday. Even the Centralized Admission Process (CAP) Committee, responsible for Std XI admissions, has decided to chip in. Sanjay Charalwar, chairman of the committee, said, “Big banners will be put up at admission counselling centres advising students to wear helmet. We will even engage some staff to talk to them.” Last year itself, Nagpur traffic police had written to schools and colleges asking them to act against helmetless drivers.
Coaching classes, where 15-17 year olds flock in hordes, is an area of concern as they are not under anybody’s direct control and hence self-regulation becomes important. Sarang Upganlawar, director of I-Cad Learning, said, “We appreciate the campaign by traffic cops and even we advise our students to adhere to it. But it will be more beneficial if we can have the police interacting with coaching institutes and sharing ideas on year-long implementation.”
Some schools have, however, been strict about the licence and helmet rule right from start. Centre Point School in 2012 handed down a weeklong suspension to eight of its students for driving without licence. Though some parents were extremely unhappy with the decision, the school decided the law and safety of students took priority. The current traffic police crackdown has found a strong supporter in CPS with its director Radhika Rajwade saying they deal with defaulters strictly. Rajwade said, “We imposed the helmet rule a year ago and as of now all students are following it. We send back students who default even after multiple warnings and inform their parents. Licence details of all students are in our file to ensure they all have a valid permit.”
While some parents have questioned the authority of schools to act in this way, well-known city lawyer Amit Khare said it was not an issue. Khare said, “Anything done within the ambit of law is safe, so schools are well within their rights in enforcing the helmet and valid licence rule. Just a few days ago Justice B Gavai stated in Nagpur HC that law is nothing but sheer common sense. The onus is on parents to buy their child a helmet rather than question the schools’ action.”