Parents complain over male bus conductors

Parents of an Indian school in Discovery Gardens have raised objection to the presence of male conductor in school buses.

“My daughter takes the school bus every day, and I noticed that the bus conductor is male,” complained a parent, requesting anonymity.

“I thought it was mandatory for schools to provide only female staff on the bus.”

Another parent whose child is enrolled in kindergarten added, “With no disrespect to anyone, I’m just not comfortable with male conductors assisting my girl.”

The Road Transport and Authority’s (RTA) ‘Dubai school transport manual’ highlights that female conductors must be appointed for students from Class 6 upwards.

“Appoint a female conductor for each bus, with exception of male students only buses, from class 6 up to the secondary level,” it reads.

This point was clarified by Fadi Khalil, Private School Centre manager at Emirates Transport.

He said that male conductors can be hired for only boys’ school buses, grade 6 upwards.

“For girls or mixed groups, the conductors have to be female. And, this applies to both public and private schools.”

The decision to hire female bus assistants was part of a joint initiative by the RTA, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Community Development Authority (CDA) in 2011.

While most schools in Dubai outsource school bus service to private companies, the institution has a say in the recruiting of bus conductor/assistants.

Fadi clarified that the conductors can either double as school staff or remain exclusive to the bus service.

“The important thing is that they are present in the bus during the journey, and help children,” he stressed.

The manual instructs school principals to ensure the guideline is followed. Apart from the gender, it asks the schools to appoint “qualified individuals” to the post, and ensure that they attend “prescribed training at the agency”.

Of the “responsibilities of female bus conductors” listed out in the manual, the main pointers are to maintain students’ safety, ensure they are handed over to their families, and deal with emergencies adequately.

According to the agency’s hiring criteria, the candidates should be aged 25 or older, be medically fit, good conduct, pass the agency’s theory test and hold the general secondary certificate or equivalent.

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