ISKANDAR PUTERI: School vans transporting 10 or more children in Johor are required to have a driver’s assistant to ensure the safety of all passengers during pick-up and drop-off.
Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin (BN-Tanjung Surat) (pic) said the new standard operating procedure (SOP) was introduced by the state government following the recent tragic death of a five-year-old boy who was left behind in a school van.
“According to the SOP, the assistant is responsible for ensuring the safety of all children inside the vehicle at all times,” he said during the state assembly sitting at Kota Iskandar yesterday.
The SOP covers several areas, including driver management, vehicle licence, inspections and maintenance, child safety monitoring, attendance tracking and emergency response protocols.
“Several school vans have also been equipped with alarm systems that alert the driver or assistant if any child is left behind after reaching the destination.
“Before locking up, the driver and assistant must thoroughly check the vehicle to ensure that no child has been left inside,” he said, adding that this should be carried out upon arrival at the school or home.
Additional measures include special training for licensed school van and bus drivers, covering child safety, road safety and emergency response procedures.
Drivers are also required to undergo physical and mental health assessments.
Aznan was responding to a question from Wong Bor Yang (PH-Senai) on whether the state government had implemented any new SOP to prevent incidents like the one that led to the five-year-old’s death.
He said the SOP, formulated by the state Education Department and the Land Public Transport Agency, has been implemented across all educational institutions, from kindergartens to secondary schools, with enforcement to follow.
The guideline also mandates that attendance be recorded as children enter and exit the vehicle, and the driver or assistant are required to notify the school or parents immediately if any issue arises.
“Schools, van operators and parents should also come up with their own clear SOP in case a child is left behind, such as promptly contacting emergency services and informing parents and local authorities,” Aznan said.
He also urged schools to report such incidents to the authorities, including the Education Department, stressing that the safety and welfare of schoolchildren is a shared responsibility.
On April 30, a five-year-old boy was found unconscious in a school van parked outside a kindergarten in Taman Bukit Indah.
He was believed to have been left behind after the 56-year-old van driver dropped off other children at around 7.30am.
The boy was discovered around noon and later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The driver has since been charged at the Sessions Court on May 7 for negligence allegedly leading to the child’s death.
