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Regular classes back in Chandigarh, but school buses yet to resume services
The school bus operators say the buses will start once the attendance gets higher, as it’s not financially viable to operate them currently
While the UT administration allowed private schools to start offline classes for all standards from Monday, school buses have still not resumed completely amid low attendance.
This has left parents harried, as due to their occupational demands and paucity of time, they are unable to pick and drop their wards. Also, in a counter-effect, others are desisting from sending their wards to school.
Chandigarh Parents Association president Nitin Goyal said, “Transportation is an issue with most parents. While those who are willing to send their wards to school are suffering in the absence of school buses, others are abstaining from doing so, as just a month of classes is remaining while transportation charges are levied for longer periods.”
The school bus operators say the buses will start once the attendance gets higher.
Chandigarh School Bus Operators Welfare Association general secretary Jiwan Rattan Sharma said, “With just around 10% of students coming to school, schools have not approached us to restart the bus service. It anyway will not be viable if attendance doesn’t cross 50%. We have also asked the administration to waive our taxes during the entire lockdown period, as we were given exemption just from March 2020 to December 2020. The vehicles’ fitness must also be extended by two more years.”
Meanwhile, with just a month to go before the current academic session ends, attendance may continue to remain on the lower side. Gurpreet Bakshi, administrator of St Kabir Public School in Sector 26, said, “The final exams will start in a month’s time and the administration has also allowed the option of online classes, so many students will opt for physical classes from next session only.”
On the other hand, some private schools have started school buses on their own. Chairman of Vivek High School, Sector 38, HS Mamik said they started the bus service on Tuesday. Before schools were closed in January, Vivek High School was also among the few schools already running buses.
