Doha, May 18 (Gulf Times): A four-and-a-half-year-old Indian kindergarten pupil Sarah Gazdhar died on Monday May 17 purportedly of heat and asphyxiation after she had failed to disembark from the bus when it reached her school. She was left in the vehicle for over four hours.
At least two such deaths have been reported in other GCC states in the last two years. However, according to information available, this is the first time an incident such as this has occurred in a school in Qatar.
Operating a school bus without an attendant is an offence, inquiries made with transport departments at some schools found. A transport manager at another school, managing more than 75 buses apart from hiring buses from outside for ferrying their students, said no driver was allowed to take the bus out of the campus without an attendant on board at his institution.
“If an attendant takes leave owing to some emergency, we ensure that a substitute takes is provided who would meet the requirements of those boarding the bus,” he said.
“Once or twice, we were forced to depute other staffers to do the duties as the attendants concerned were unable to work due to sudden indisposition,” said another manager.
“Even if it is a bus operated on contract, the school ensures that an attendant accompanies the children on board,” he said.
The official said that on hearing (yesterday’s) tragic news, his school management summoned a meeting of the transport staffers to advise them of the necessary precautions to be taken to avoid such tragedies.