Figures released by the Ministry of Education reveal an alarming number of school children being involved in road accidents.
Statistics show that from 2000 to 2008, 734 school children were involved in road accidents.
Out of these, 435 were seriously injured, 251 were hospitalized and 48 died.
Last year, 71 students were victims of road accidents.
Forty-eight were not on their school journey while 28 were either going to or returning from school.
Figures also show that from the beginning of this year till June, there were 23 road fatalities, which were all caused by careless driving.
Eight of these involved school children.
This week alone, four primary school children sustained serious injuries due to road accidents.
Meanwhile, police have called on school head-teachers to seek their assistance for school patrolling if they do not have enough teachers to do so.
Deputy Director Operations SP Erami Raibe said laxity on the part of teachers sometimes lead to serious accidents.
