Safety of school going children is everyone’s responsibility

How does your little child get to and from school? Do you put them in your car and head off to school before work or does he have to push and shove for space in the commuter buses during the morning rush hour? Maybe he walks because the school is not that far or actually because you cannot afford to pay for his daily bus fare. This week Education Times joins the discussion on child safety by looking at some of the dangers children face when going to school. We have noticed that some parents contract Taxi Moto drivers to pick their children from home and school each day regardless of the dangers involved. Even those who walk to school sometimes care less about basic traffic rules and can be seen to play along the road oblivious of the danger they are putting their lives into. Kigali roads keep getting busier by the day. This calls for more vigilance from both motorists as well as pedestrians. Rwanda National Police often carries out road safety awareness campaigns but parents should also take an active role in ensuring the safety of their children. Schools and parents can and should sit and deliberate on how they can have organised transport as this has been seen to solve a lot of problems. When we send our children to school we want them to get an education and grow to become useful citizens of this country. Their usefulness can only be seen if they are guaranteed of getting to school and back home safely. If we all play our role then we can live to see them grow into useful and educated people ready to take charge of the country’s development agenda.