Come Class 6, children some decades ago would be dreaming of going to school on bicycles. But can we think of it today? It won’t be a dream.
The fumes-spewing, honking vehicles, traffic snarls and big SUVs make me afraid when I see them near schools. Young men rushing past recklessly on their motorbikes make my heart pound. How can we allow our children to cycle to school in this scene?
We all know how good cycling is for all of us. It is an excellent form of exercise in these sedentary times of gadgetry. It’s ecofriendly. It makes little children gain in confidence as they move out and deal with those small issues that are due to crop up on the way, like skipping of the chain or a puncture. I still remember the exhilaration of being able to do something by myself when I was able, for the first time, to put back the chain which had slipped off the sprocket. It helps in socialising as the little cyclists pedal away together talking, joking to school and being of help to one another in times of need. Didn’t we ride double, taking turns at the pedals, if one of us didn’t have a cycle some day?
In addition, cycles are such great levellers in a socio-economic and gender sense. All of us cycled to school whether we were girls or boys and whatever section of society we hailed from.
A study has empirically concluded that the cycle distribution programme in Bihar was much more cost effective at increasing girls’ enrolment than comparable conditional cash transfer programmes in South Asia.
In spite of being aware of the benefits, the greatest hurdle in sending our children on bicycles is our fear of monster bikes and cars on the roads with huge egos riding them.
Can’t we then ensure that all our schoolchildren ride to school, unless, of course, if there is some special reason for not being able to do so? For this, the parents, the school authorities and the administrative authorities, all will have to come together.
The rules, as they exist, permit a 16 year old to ride a gearless motorbike. This ought to be amended as gearless two-wheelers available today have powerful engines and the adolescents riding them, with their overflowing adrenaline, pose quite a danger to others.
The plying of all motor vehicles (except the essential ones) should be barred near schools for about half an hour during their opening and closing times.
Cycling will only result in lessening obesity and vitamin D deficiencies in our growing kids and make their bones and joints strong. It will also make them sociable and confident beings. In fact, if cycling to school is made compulsory, the concept of neighbourhood schooling can also be ensured in the long run, as people may then like to choose a school that is at a cycleable distance!