Hyderabad: Are schools now forcing parents to opt for the bus service though parents might want to opt for alternatives? Yes, say some parents who claim that several managements have made it mandatory to use school transport.
Parents living within 1 or 2 km of the school also have to use the school transport. Though this is not an official mandate, the managements say it makes for better traffic management during entry and exit times of the students. It is also a safer option, they claim.
Parents are not particularly happy about this.
Said Mr C.J. Singh, whose son studies in St. Andrews School, “My son does not use the school transport, but the management has chan-ged the timings for students with transport and without transport. Those who use the school transport leave the school first, while those who use their own transport are made to wait till all 42 buses leave the premises. Not only does the child have to wait for long, he is also left at the mercy of the ayahs without the supervision of teachers who have left in the buses.”
Mr Arvinda Jata, a parent from Vidyanagar, said, “This happens because most schools do not have enough parking space. Private vehicles are not allowed near the school as that space is kept for their buses. The guardians of kids who are not taking the school bus have to wait till the vehicles leave. Schools are creating this situation deliberately so that parents are left with no option but to send the kids in school buses.”
He said schools charge high amounts as transportation fees. “Why is that even if fuel prices are lowered, transport fees are increasing? Transport has become an additional source of income for the schools,” he alleged.
School buses have to pass a fitness test every year before the summer vacation ends but according to the Road Transport Authority in Hyderabad, managaments are lackadaisical regarding this. This year, of the 2,000 school buses in the city, 750 had gone through the fitness test till June 4, joint transport commissioner J. Pandurang Naik said.
He added, “Once the fitness tests are over we conduct special drives to check whether all the schools have renewed the certificates or not. The special drive is done from June 15 to June 30. We seize school buses caught without the updated fitness certificates. Last year, we seized around 15 schools buses. Without the fitness tests schools are not allowed to use the buses. We also check the driver’s licence and reconfirm that they have a minimum of 5 years of experience along with a few other compulsory clauses.”
Mr K. Venkat, a member of the Hyderabad School Parents' Associa-tion, said, “Schools do get the bus fitness tested every year but training and other qualifications of the drivers are not checked. Buses should have a caretaker, a cleaner and a teacher along with the driver which is not followed in many schools. Due to the high transport fees many parents have to opt for autorickshaws which are not always safe.” School principals disagree with the parents’ claim that students are being forced to take school buses. P. Obul Reddy School principal Anjali Razan said, “School transport is always optional for the students but most of them prefer it for their convenience. Besides school transport works out much cheaper.”
