Muscat – To curb school bus accidents, the Ministry of Education will soon announce a law on school transport, according to H E Dr Abdullah Khamis Ambusaidi, Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs in the Ministry of Education (MoE).

In an interview with Radio Sultanate of Oman focused on school bus accidents, H E Ambusaidi informed that MoE has over 17,000 buses, running which needs RO80mn. “The ministry has tried to negotiate with Mwasalat to transport students, but contracting a transport company will more than double the cost to around RO180mn, which is expensive.”

According to H E Ambusaidi, the ministry is currently dealing with school transport matters in joint efforts with Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Royal Oman Police, and oil and gas firms.

“The Ministry of Education has set safety standards for student transportation and the Ministry of Transport will soon issue a new school transportation law.”

Recent school bus accidents have caused much concern among parents. On March 19, a student fell from a running school bus belonging to the Directorate of Education in North Batinah. The student did not suffer any serious injuries.

On February 27, another student fell from a running school bus belonging to a school under the Directorate of Education in Dakhliyah.

Last year on September 4, the first day of the 2022-23 academic year, a student in Mabela died when a speeding car hit her as she was getting off a bus.