DUBAI // Schools and transport companies said all buses should be fitted with electronic tagging systems to trigger an alarm if a pupil remains onboard when they are not meant to be.
Their calls for improving safety follows the death of a three-year-old girl who was forgotten about on her school bus in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“We have put in many initiatives to ensure the safety of students,” said M L Augustine, managing director of School Transport Services, which carries about 58,000 pupils to school across the UAE.
“All our buses are fitted with an electronic attendance system so no child gets left inside the bus. The students have barcoded IDs that they have to scan every time they enter or leave the bus.
“Once the vehicle reaches its destination and the driver gets off, he has to scan his ID as well. If a child is in the bus, our control room will immediately get an alert to let us know.”
The technology was fitted five years ago in all the company’s 1,400 buses and Mr Augustine believes it should be standard across all school buses.
STS has another system – the sleeping child check button – which was installed at the rear of all its buses a year ago, to further eliminate errors.
“At the end of the trip, the driver has to go to the back of the bus and press this button within a minute of the ignition being switched off,” Mr Augustine said. “Otherwise, an alarm is set off in our control room. This ensures he walks through the entire bus and checks for any child being left behind.”
One Dubai school said it had also installed an electronic tagging system. “The driver scans every student’s ID when they get in or leave,” said Rashmi Nandkeolyar, principal of the Delhi Private School, in The Gardens. “Between 7.45am and 8am, the teacher takes attendance in the class and it’s fed into our system. An online report is generated and if there is a mismatch, we will know.”
Mrs Nandkeolyar said schools should not rely only on technology.
“Each driver and attendant has to carry out physical checks. The checks are important, particularly in the mornings. Parents think the children are in school and the teacher may think they are absent.”
Officials at Emirates Transport (ET) agreed. “The supervisor is given a list of the students taking the bus,” said Aamer Al Shehhi, manager of Abu Dhabi school transport at the company, which runs 4,700 buses.
“This list is cross-checked when all the students are picked up and then checked again when they are dropped. If the student’s house is across the road from the bus, then the supervisor has to hold the student’s hand and cross the road with them.”
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport stipulates that to prevent children being left aboard at the final destination, school buses have to display a “Vacant” sign.
“If the sign is not on, it means that there is someone on the bus,” he said, adding that if a pupil failed to get on the bus, it was the supervisor’s responsibility to alert the school, which in turn alerts the parents.
In its Dubai School Transport manual, the Roads and Transport Authority mandates bus conductors to ensure at the end of the trip that the bus is empty.
ET said it had plans to get pupils to wear a wristband or scan their fingers when getting on and off the bus, after which a text message would be sent to parents to inform them.
pkannan@thenational.ae
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Kandahar%20
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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