freak accident during school outing ; Who checks for safety?

The sad case of some schoolchildren on excursion who lost their lives in a vehicle accident last week is exceptionally disturbing.

The gory pictures of the accident scene posted on-line by some radio stations and which went viral on some social media platforms must have been nightmarish for those parents and guardians who lost their children and wards in the accident.

According to an eyewitness account picked from an on-line source, the children, aged between seven and 15 from a school at Kasoa in the Central Region, were on a school trip to Afadjato in the Volta Region.  The bus conveying the children had almost finished climbing the mountainous portion of the area when the driver lost control of the vehicle and fell into a ditch.  

The result was dismembered bodies of some of the children scattered at the accident scene as per the pictures put on-line.  Extremely upsetting ending to an otherwise pleasurable journey for some little ones.

School trips

Accidents can happen and they do happen. However, accidents could also be avoided and that is why some people get punished in some accident cases.  The Afadjato accident involving the schoolchildren must be a wake-up call for school authorities who send their children on school trips whether for pleasure or for study purposes, on schools’ vehicles or third party vehicles.

The point is taking schoolchildren on a trip, even with a parent’s permission, is a risk.  It is for this reason that school authorities should always ensure that they go through certain safety and security checks before they embark on any such trips.  Does a school take insurance cover for the children and teachers who go on school sponsored trips?  Who checks the insurance covers for the vehicles schools hire to carry the precious little lives?

Does a school go to the extent of making sure that the vehicles they hire for school trips are thoroughly inspected and declared good for the kind of journey they take the children on?  These are genuine questions, whether one is a parent or not.

Safety checks

In my former place of work, for every trip out of town on a third party vehicle, there is a general assumption that a third party vehicle is safety averse.  Consequently, there is a standard internal form generated from the Safety Department which the manager initiating the travel must complete.  In addition to that, the Transport and Safety Managers may sometimes have to inspect and certify the vehicle as safe to embark on the specific journey.

Usually, basic things such as seat belts fitted individually for each seat, working fog and trafficator lights, effective brakes and functioning speedometers are checked and signed off before hiring.  Then of course is the driver’s experience.  These are all crucial checks that one expects an institution such as a school to take into account, and the Ghana Education Service (GES) must insist on for all school journeys.

In the case of the Kasoa school accident at Afadjato last week, knowing the terrain that the children were going into, did the school ensure that safety checks were done on the bus?  Did each of the seats have seat belts and if they did, did the teachers accompanying the children ensure that every child was buckled up for the entire journey?   How experienced was the driver to take that kind of journey and what kind of insurance covered the vehicle?  These are pure legitimate questions to ask.

Culture of safety

Whether it is churches or workers travelling out of town for a funeral, schools or associations embarking on a pleasure trip out of town, we should begin to embrace the culture of safety if we already do not have it and ensure that for each group travel out of town, everything to do with safety is covered and where possible, group insurance taken.

We will soon enter the period of Easter conventions organised by churches across the country.  This is the time to be thinking about what safety checks one needs to do on vehicles that would be used.  

It is becoming clear why some parents refuse to allow their children to go on school trips, especially those organised for pleasure sake.  What happened at the foot of Afadjato with the unfortunate schoolchildren in the name of school excursion should be investigated and lessons shared with GES so they can properly advise schools.  The GES and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) should insist on safety and security check rules for every school trip organised.  

Deepest condolences to all the parents and guardians who lost their children and wards in last week’s heart-wrenching accident at Afadjato.  

vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com