Thiruvangoor Higher Secondary School to file complaint against bus crew

KOZHIKODE: Whether school students be provided with concession in the ticket rates outside their school hours was always debated, but stopping or holding back the teenagers at odd hours in strange places is nothing but a violation of child rights, say teachers of Thiruvangoor Higher Secondary School. Nearly 25 Class X boys from the school had to face the verbal abuse allegedly by the employees of a private bus they boarded after an evening class on Friday. Some of the students had taken only the concession ticket charges they needed as they were allowed the same on the day before.

After boarding from Thiruvangoor, the bus halted before reaching Pookkad around 9 pm. The normal passengers got their money refunded and some of the students, out of fear, gave full ticket charges. The bus employees allegedly said that the other students could not leave without paying the full charges, else their parents should come. On Saturday, parents, students and locals stopped the bus. The tiff grew, and conciliation talks followed.

"The bus owner is not bothered about their atrocities on students, but the trip they missed on Saturday," said headmistress Mohanambika. "For the past many years, the school had been conducting additional classes for the Class 10 students, and till date, no buses objected to giving them concession tickets. Usually, parents or elders accompany girls and boy students travel alone for the night classes."

The school authorities said they would file a complaint with the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights seeking justice, as the bus employees have no regrets. Koyilandy SI Saju Abraham told DC that no case was registered, and at the talks, the bus employees alleged that the students tried to manhandle them and that was the reason for halting the services on Friday.