12 September 2007

Dubai: The constant worry of parents about the whereabouts of their children has prompted a school to install Global Positioning System (GPS), a tracking system, in their buses.

Michael Henry, Principal of Scholars International Academy, said safety concerns is an issue and by opting to have a tracking system installed, the school management has placed the interests of its pupils at the forefront. The service is being made available by the school free of cost. The system is being put in place by Trakker Middle East LLC, a company based in Abu Dhabi.

Opening shortly

The school, set to open its doors for the first time on September 16, will have classes up to Grade V. It follows the British Foundation Curriculum for Kindergarten 1 and 2 and the Cambridge International Primary Curriculum form Grade I to V.

"Once the system is operational, parents and the school management will have all the necessary information on how the buses are being driven and their location," said Henry.

Explaining how the tracking system will operate, Saji John, sales and marketing manager of the company, said the system will be able to transmit the location and speed of the vehicle to the computer server.

"The school administration will have a network connection. For parents we have a 24x7 dedicated call centre. They can call the centre through a toll free number," said John. "Each parent will be given a password by the school. When they make a call to the toll free number it will ask the parent the password and the bus number in which their child is traveling. In a few seconds parents will be able to get the location of the vehicle," he said.

John said the system will also be applied to other school buses across the emirates.

"There are other schools in the UAE which have shown an interest in getting the system for their school buses," he said.

Information: All 'schools should have a similar software'

Many parents said the tracking system will help them to stay calm. "There have been several instances when my five-year-old son has come late. "The driver of the school bus blames the traffic for the delay. I would panic if he gets late and call the school ... and wait anxiously for his safe return," said Nandini Acharya, a working mother.

"My son attends an Indian curriculum school and parents are provided with the mobile number of the bus supervisor, but it is of no use. Generally, the supervisor fails to pick up our call the days when the bus is late," said a parent.

Vineet G. Agnihotri, a parent, also had a similar experience. He said: "Whenever the school bus is late we call the driver. At times the driver does not pick up his phone and this leads to more panic. The GPS (tracking system) will help us to get first-hand information on where the bus is and why is it delayed."

David D'costa, another parent, said: "I think all schools should have such or similar tracking system that would help the parents, the pupils as well as the school management to streamline the transport system."

Abha Sahgal, Principal of Delhi Public School, Sharjah, said the GPS system in school buses would bring down the anxiety level among parents when the school buses run late.

She said: "It would save a lot of anxiety and also unnecessary tensions that exist between the parents and the school when the school buses bring children home late from school. It would better the relationship between the school and parents. What is really important is that the schools are getting information on the location of the buses."

By Sunita Menon

Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.