The government has announced new measures to regulate school transport, including mandatory vetting and clearance of drivers operating buses and other mass passenger vehicles carrying learners.
The State Minister for Transport, Julius Maganda, announced the measures during an inter-ministerial briefing following the fatal Kapchorwa school bus crash involving learners from King David Junior School, which claimed the lives of 21 learners and five school staff members.
Maganda said all drivers transporting children will be required to obtain clearance from the Ministry of Works and Transport before they are allowed to operate, with public service vehicle drivers expected to possess a government-issued badge.
“Anybody who will be found driving a bus moving people, including children, and does not have the clearance from the Ministry of Works and Transport or a government badge, will be apprehended and stopped by the authorities,” Maganda said.
He said the measure is intended to ensure that only qualified and approved drivers are entrusted with transporting large numbers of passengers, especially learners travelling for school activities.
The minister also announced mandatory inspections of vehicles before any school trip, saying every vehicle must be confirmed to be in a safe mechanical condition before it carries learners.
“Before any school trip commences, the motor vehicle must undergo strict inspection to verify that it is in a mechanical state. A primary clearance will be handled by the Ministry of Works and Transport,” he said.
For schools located outside major urban centres, Maganda said vehicle inspections will be carried out through regional offices of the Inspectorate of Vehicles or the Traffic Police.
The offices will issue clearance confirming that the vehicles are safe for travel before they are permitted to transport learners.
However, Maganda said mechanical approval alone will not be sufficient, adding that schools will also be required to obtain administrative clearance before learners embark on trips.
“The movement of learners for the trip must be explicitly authorised by the respective District Education Officer,” he said.
Government is also moving to introduce stricter identification standards for school vehicles, requiring buses and vans operated by learning institutions to be easily recognisable.
Maganda said the regulations will apply across all categories of learning institutions, including nursery schools, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions and universities.
“The government will be moving to strictly enforce standards for schools and vehicles, especially vehicles that will be holding the licence or ownership of schools, so that such vehicles shall have a clear identity that when somebody views a vehicle from a distance, they know this is a school bus or a school van,” he said.
|Maganda said the Ministry of Works and Transport, together with the Uganda Police Force Directorate of Traffic, will oversee enforcement of the new regulations.
He warned that action would be taken against vehicle owners and operators who fail to comply with the new requirements.
The reforms are part of government’s response to the Kapchorwa tragedy as authorities seek to strengthen school transport safety and prevent future loss of lives on the roads.
The crash has renewed debate over the safety of school trips, vehicle inspection procedures and the qualifications of drivers entrusted with transporting learners across the country.
