Lucknow, Jul 21 The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday issued a stern warning to schools, saying they would face action if they fail to comply with its directions on deploying traffic marshals to regulate congestion outside campuses and ensure students' safety.
A Lucknow bench of the court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Lucknow, to immediately issue notices to schools that have neither deployed traffic marshals nor submitted any proposal for their appointment.
The matter will next be heard on July 30.
The bench of justices Alok Mathur and B R Singh observed, "In case, it is found that on three occasions or more, the schools are flouting the directions of this court in deploying the marshalls, the said fact shall be intimated to this court, where further course of action shall be decided and such errant schools should be proceeded against."
During the hearing, the Additional Advocate General informed the court that an agreement had been signed with the selected agency and that physical inspections of schools across Uttar Pradesh were likely to commence from August 1.
The court, thereafter, directed that the inspections should be carried out only by trained and qualified personnel.
It further ordered the state government to verify the credentials of all members of the inspection teams before they begin the exercise.
The bench also said that the initial phase of inspections would be crucial and directed that any difficulty or obstacle encountered during the process be brought to the court's notice immediately through the Additional Advocate General so that appropriate directions could be issued.
The court was also informed that Loreto Convent School had opened Gate No. 6A, allowing vehicles transporting students to move through the school premises instead of stopping on the adjoining roads. This has led to a significant improvement in traffic flow around the school.
The bench further noted that several schools are jointly preparing a common standard operating procedure (SOP) for traffic management.
It directed that once finalised, the SOP should be implemented uniformly across all schools to ensure student safety and better traffic regulation outside educational institutions.
