Despite repeated directives from the State Transport Authority (STA) and the Education department, many schools in Kozhikode district have failed to complete the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in their school buses. The delay has raised serious safety concerns, especially as some schools have reportedly increased bus fees, citing the cost of installing surveillance systems.
Authorities had instructed school managements to complete the installation of CCTV cameras within the first academic term. However, even after the conclusion of the second term, several government, aided, unaided, and private schools are yet to implement the safety guidelines. The negligence continues despite the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) having earlier granted fitness clearance to educational institution vehicles based on undertakings that schools would independently install cameras and present the vehicles again for inspection. According to MVD sources, none of these schools has complied with this commitment so far.
MVD officials have now made it clear that from the next academic year, fitness certificates will be issued only to vehicles fitted with mandatory surveillance cameras. In Kozhikode city alone, nearly 200 school buses were produced for fitness inspections ahead of the reopening of schools in June 2025. Around 20 buses were denied fitness certificates as they were not equipped with GPS devices, which are part of the revised safety guidelines.
