Safer methods of transport for teachers being studied

Noura Al-Faiz, vice minister of Education for Girls Education, said the ministry is studying methods of safe and comfortable transportation of women teachers with the help of consultants in the sector.
Al-Faiz made the statement in a function to honor the organizing committee of a recently concluded international conference on school transportation in Riyadh.
The conference, in which 530 delegates from 12 countries participated, recommended the ministry to conduct consultative studies for safe and reliable women teachers’ transport in the Kingdom.
The safety transportation of female students and teachers has been a challenge to school authorities, especially after many fatal accidents involving teachers and students occurred in the past years.
Al-Faiz said the conference aimed to ensure safe and quality transportation system for teachers and students.
The deputy minister said the ministry is striving to implement the recommendations of the conference.
The conference wanted to encourage the school transporting industry and exchange local and the international expertise in the sector, besides familiarizing school transporting contractors with successful international experiments in the field.
The conference also wanted to attract and encourage investors to the school transport sector. The topics discussed in the event included the special measures required for safety and security of school transportation, quality management and institutional change management in the sector.
The conference also stressed the importance of checking the roadworthiness of the buses used for transporting teachers and students, and not to issue permit to a bus that does not make comprehensive periodic checking. The meeting also recommended a second international conference on public transport system that would supplement university, school and women teachers’ transport, she said.
More than 1,300 people visited an exhibition on transport services and technologies organized on the sidelines of the conference. A number of private and public sector companies participated in the expo. The conference also organized a training workshop for the ministry’s workers in the school transportation with the participation of 226 people.
The conference was organized in line with a decision of the Council of Ministers in August 2011 for the expansion of school transport service to boys and girls including nursery schools, women teachers with the highest quality standard.
Deputy Minister of Education Khaled Al-Sabti also attended function on Sunday.