School for Mentally Disabled Children Use GPS Technology to Track its Students
9 Sep 2013Protection is available for mentally disabled school children thanks to GPS tracking technology; parents can rest easy when they send their children to school.
The hardest thing for any parent when they send their child to school is knowing they’re safe. For mentally or physically disabled children, the concern is considerably higher. Parents want their children to have the same education other children their age get, but there is little they can do to ensure their safety during school hours. That is, until now.
GPS tracking technology has more uses than providing GPS fleet tracking for vehicles, auto theft recovery, or tracking teen drivers; it can also help keep track of your children while they are at school. That is exactly what the staff at Rhenish Church Grace School in Diamond Hill, Hong Kong, have started doing.
The main issue at Rhenish is that during outings the children become fascinated by nature and have an instinct to wander off and see what more there is to explore. But for school staff and parents, this is more than just worrisome. If this happens, they want to be able to find them quickly, before they get hurt.
For this reason, the principal of Rhenish school, Samuel Tse Hing-sang, approved the use of GPS tracking.
The school believes strongly in giving students the freedom to explore, but within a safe distance. The children’s health and safety is most important.
“They have the ability to run around, but they lack the ability to face contingencies. If we can locate lost students early, we can minimise the risk of accidents, Tse Hing-sang told reporters:
Each student is outfitted with a GPS tracking device before they leave for their outings. Principal Tse Hing-sang watches their location from his computer, as each student is marked by a dot on the map. If all the dots are in the same place, he knows there isn’t an issue. But if a dot starts straying from the group, he takes action right away.
Rhenish Church Grace School currently has more than 100 students, ranging in ages from 6-18. They are considered moderately mentally disabled, with some students not having strong vocal abilities. Before using the GPS trackers, parents offered their permission and legal advice was acquired to be sure they didn’t break any laws.
The GPS tracking for kids has already been used once, when a group of students traveled to Guangdong province for a tour. This was a school trip that lasts three days with 12 students and 10 teachers and staff. Every student had a GPS tracking device. The principal and staff members watched their monitors regularly to be sure students remained with the group. If a student went out of the set boundaries, an alarm would sound. One night on a trip to the market, one student went a little farther than Principal Tse Hing-sang was comfortable with, so he alerted the teacher and the student was safe and back to the group within minutes.
Not only are the trackers helpful in school, but parents are becoming interested in using them at home. This is largely due to recent incidents of disabled children becoming lost. Luckily, these children came back safely, but it is a concern for every parent. This proves that GPS tracking devices have multiple uses, including keeping children safe and sound.
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