By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
Government has directed all education institutions to paint vehicles used for transporting learners yellow as part of the government’s efforts to regulate school transport and promote safety of learners on the roads.
The directive was announced during a joint ministerial press conference by education, ICT, works and transport ministries at the Uganda Media Centre on Friday. This followed a Thursday’s fatal King David Junior School bus crash in Kapchorwa district that claimed 21 lives.
Acting Education and Sports Minister Dr John C. Muyingo said all school transport vehicles, from nursery schools to universities, will be required to adopt the standard yellow colour to make them easily identifiable on the road.
“We are moving to enforce a standard that many countries already follow. School transport vehicles should be painted yellow so they are instantly recognisable on the road,” Muyingo said.
The move means nursery schools, kindergartens, Universal Education institutions, universities and private schools will all be required to comply with the new colour requirement, which is politically associated with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Government also announced the immediate suspension of all school trips and educational tours involving group travel by road, both within Uganda and abroad, until further notice.
Schools whose learners were already away on educational trips were directed to report to the nearest police station for coordinated and safe return under the supervision of the Uganda Police Force.
The ministers also unveiled stricter requirements for school transport operations. Every driver transporting large groups of learners must first be cleared by the Ministry of Works and Transport, while Public Service Vehicle drivers will be required to carry official government identification badges.
In addition, every vehicle must undergo a mechanical inspection before undertaking a school trip, while no journey involving learners will be permitted without written approval from the respective District Education Officer.
To strengthen enforcement, Government said an inter-ministerial committee has been established to develop licensing regulations for vehicles transporting children, with enforcement to be undertaken jointly by the Ministries of Works and Education alongside the Police Traffic Directorate.
The directives follow Thursday evening’s crash in Kapchorwa in which a bus carrying pupils of King David Junior School overturned after hitting a roadside rock before veering off the road, killing 21 people, including pupils, five teachers and the school’s director.
The tragedy came barely a week after another school transport accident at a railway crossing in Mukono, where a bus carrying students of Mwebaze High School collided with a train, leaving one adult dead and 16 students injured.
Earlier on Friday, Muyingo visited King David Junior School before Government announced the temporary closure of the school for two weeks to allow investigations and mourning.
Police, together with officials from the Ministries of Education and Works, are investigating the circumstances surrounding the Kapchorwa crash.
