Sindh bans gas cylinders in school vans, orders fitness certificates

The Sindh Education Department has banned CNG and LPG cylinders in school vans across the province and made a fitness certificate issued by the provincial government compulsory for every vehicle used to carry students.

The directives were sent to private schools on the instructions of Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah, according to a notification reported by Geo News, Minute Mirror and TechJuice.

The same notification prohibits feeding fuel to a vehicle's engine from bottles, cans or other containers, a practice it described as dangerous. School administrations have been told not to carry more students than a van's approved seating capacity and to stop children travelling on footboards.

Each school van must hold a valid fitness certificate, with a copy kept inside the vehicle for inspection, the department said. Officials said action would be taken against the management of any school whose transport did not meet the standards.

Sardar Ali Shah said transport operators must follow the safety regulations strictly. The department said no compromise would be made on the safety of students and directed private institutions to ensure the rules were implemented in full.

Minute Mirror reported that the directives apply in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. None of the three reports specified a compliance deadline, the penalty for a violation, or how many schools and vans operate in the province.

The department said the measures were intended to prevent accidents linked to gas kits, overcrowded vehicles and children riding on footboards. It did not say how certificates would be checked, or whether the department would work with the traffic police and the excise and taxation department, which registers vehicles, at roadside inspections.

Sindh's school transport sector is largely privately run, with vans contracted by individual families and school managements rather than by the department itself. The notification places the responsibility for compliance on private school administrations rather than on the vehicle owners alone.

Geo News reported that the department warned schools of action over violations of the transport safety rules. The three outlets agreed on the content of the restrictions and on the minister's role in issuing them.