On April 8, the Ministry of Education announced that – starting from this year – all school buses must be registered online in a national information management system. This will reportedly make it easier to track accidents involving school buses, evaluate driver performance, and improve the quality of bus service. This new measure is designed to increase public security.

Due to the number of accidents involving school buses in the past few years, more attention was given to screening drivers and reforming bus licensing systems in 2012. But it wasn’t enough – school buses, especially in rural areas, continued to be involved in many traffic accidents.

Because there are fewer schools, children in rural areas must often travel farther to reach their institutions. School buses in these areas are often overloaded or unlicensed as a result.  

In these cases, online registration would not do much to resolve the problem. Authorities should instead start to allocate more buses for areas where the need is higher in order to guarantee a safe trip for the children.

School buses are a necessity for many kids; riding one should not be a daily risk to their lives. Let’s hope that the authorities will be able to gradually resolve the problem and that there will not be any more accidents.

Photo by Caitlinator (Flickr)

On the afternoon of December 12, a school bus in Feng County, Jiangsu Province rolled over into aditch almost 2ft in depth. Apparently, it swerved to avoid hitting a bicycle cart. Fifteen students died in the accident, and eight are still in the hospital.

On the same day, another school bus in Shunde, Guangdong Province collided with a truck. Two thirds of the student passengers were injured and one of them is in critical condition.

The next day, a school bus in Zhumadian, Henan Province crashed into a truck and two students died in the accident. More than 20 people were injured. See the source here.

These shocking numbers recall an  incident in Gansu, which took place less than a month ago.  The fright still lingers in the public’s consciousness.

In Gansu, on November 16, a kindergarten school bus ran into a coal truck due to serious overloading. Twenty-one people (including 19 students) died in the accident and 43 people were injured. See the source here.

This has rung an alarm for unregulated school buses in China. But while the national government was collecting suggestions to draft school bus safety regulations, other accidents happened.

More and more parents are experiencing the pain of losing their children. At the same time, the government is also investigating the accidents and taking action against the  people responsible for the accidents. Other than that, what can China do? Will the new regulations come out in time to save young lives?

Photo: chinanews.com

Last month, a grade school student from one of Beijing’s most prestigious international schools got some unexpected extra curricular education in reproductive health. Now I’m no expert, but when you drop a sizable amount of money on your child’s education, there are certain things you presume you need not fret about: qualified teachers, above average class rooms, books in the library and a distinct absence of hardcore pornography. Some would even think the last one does not need mentioning.

Unfortunately, that was not the case when little innocent 10-year-old Othello (I’ve changed his name, by the way) boarded his school bus bound for a field trip. Othello and his classmates were stunned into silence when the driver fired up the engine and a pornographic movie began playing on the television smack dab in the middle of a vivid moment in the narrative. When asked about the movie, little Othello said, “It was something very, very inappropriate and I had to cover my eyes and look away.”

Apparently it took a wee bit of time for the teacher to bash some sense into the driver as she yelled at him to switch off the film. In his defense, it was a climactic moment in the plot…but I digress.

That afternoon, the principal sent a letter home with each pupil from the bus explaining the “incident” and how the driver had been fired for his poor choice in films (it wasn’t even French) and if something like this should ever happen again, the bus company would be replaced! I suspect the school made the common mistake of neglecting to inform the driver of the bus (and the bus company) that pornographic films – even French ones – are not permitted on the school bus; something they will be sure to include in the driver training from now on.

Though their young minds have now been exposed to graphic scenes of sex, on the positive side, it was a field trip the students will never forget.

For your convenience, they’ll have two School Buses — the first leaving at 9am, the second at 11.30am. Both School Buses will make a stop in downtown Beijing and then Shunyi before smooth sailing to The Schoolhouse front gate. Enjoy a stroll up to the Great Wall or explore the area on your own and hike hidden trails. What’s more, all day-trippers will get a free pass for their School Bus shuttle, which will travel in and around Mutianyu throughout the day. Roundtrip School Bus tickets cost RMB 120. For more information CLICK HERE.

To reserve your seat on The School Bus, email The Schoolhouse (theschoolbus@theschoolhouseatmutianyu.com) by Thursday 6pm and make sure to leave your name, phone number and the number of people in your party.