State govt. to introduce road safety related subject for Class 10 students
Students who score better grades in this subject will be given priority in the centralised admission process for Class 11 (junior college)
In a bid to create awareness among students about road safety and responsible driving, the state transport department along with the state education department plans to introduce a road safety-related subject for Class 10 students in their board examinations. Students who score better grades in this subject will be given priority in the centralised admission process for Class 11 (junior college).
Vivek Bhimanwar, state transport commissioner, said, “A few days ago, the state principal secretary held a meeting with senior officials and they asked education department officials to check how a subject on road safety could be introduced for Class 10 students. A special subject would thus be introduced in the syllabus, and students would be evaluated through grades scored in this subject. It would be introduced as an optional subject and extra grades would be given to students who score well. These students would be benefitted in the centralised admission process at the junior college level.”
Whereas state school education minister Deepak Kesarkar said, “We are looking at how feasible it is and how this subject will be introduced in the school syllabus along with the grade system. Especially when Class 10 students pass out and go to junior college, they go for driving license tests to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and start riding bikes. Hence, if we can give them lessons in road safety in schools, it would be beneficial for them as well. Although it would be possible only from the next academic year.”
While students, parents and education experts have welcomed the state government’s latest move, professor Siddharth Jain from a prominent college in Pune said, “We regularly take awareness drives and campus programmes for students, especially in road safety, driving skills and related issues as some of our students have lost their lives in road accidents in the past. To save the lives of students, it is necessary for them to learn more about safe driving from an early stage.”
Earlier in 2015, the then state education minister Vinod Tawde had proposed introducing ‘road safety’ as a subject in the school curriculum in Maharashtra. At the time, the state government had planned to introduce it with various chapters on road norms, traffic signs, highway codes, traffic hazards and related topics in the syllabus of subjects such as English, Hindi and Science.