190621 school bus
A school bus in the UAE. Image Credit: GN archives

Sharjah: Parents can now monitor their children while commuting to and from school, thanks to cameras installed in school buses.

This comes after the Sharjah Private Education Authority launched the second phase of the “Your Children Are Safe” initiative this month.

Installation of security, safety devices and cameras inside the buses of private school students in the emirate had been completed, according to the authority, with the aim of achieving the highest levels of safety.

Safety

The cameras and safety devices have been installed in a total of 2,000 school buses in the emirate so far and a round 3,250 bus drivers and supervisors were also safety trained.

Tariq Al Hammadi, Acting Director of Government Communication Department at the authority, said via direct a line programme broadcast on Sharjah Radio and Sharjah TV, that the initiative was launched under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

The first stage involves installing GPS tracking devices; the second stage includes the installation of security and safety devices and cameras.

He said that the first stage was launched before the COVID 19 pandemic involving the installation of tracking devices fitted into buses and are then linked with the authority’s control and monitoring room — and with the operations room in cooperation with Emirates Transport.

Tablets for supervisors

He added: “The second part of the system is available through tablets on the buses. Bus supervisors have been provided with 2,000 tablets, which are linked to the control and monitoring room to record student data; parents/guardians will be able to see their children when they board the bus to school and to go back home.”

It is a smart and secure application on devices available to parents who have registered their children in the system to track buses.

Al Hammadi said the registration of all private school school buses in the Emirate of Sharjah in the GPS tracking system was accomplished in the first phase.

He said a circular was also sent to all private schools in the emirate to start installing security and safety devices according to the standards in the emirate.