Maharashtra students union seeks nod for ITI students' travel by train

Since a large part of the vocational curriculum at the ITIs depends on practical sessions, in-person attendance is considered important, but many students are finding it difficult to travel to institutes due to lack of access to the local train network in Mumbai and suburbs

The Maharashtra Students’ Union (MASU) has asked the state government to allow students under 18 years of age to travel on the local trains since they can’t fulfil the mandatory condition of getting vaccinated against Covid-19, and their exclusion from the local train network was resulting in many missing in-person classes at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), where a large number of class 10 pass outs study. Currently, only vaccinated commuters are allowed on Mumbai locals.

Many ITI students are unable to attend regular lectures since they don’t have access to local trains in absence of vaccination. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

“Since the start of the new academic year, most ITIs have started calling their students for physical classes but repeated demands by students to allow them to travel by train have gone unheard. This has resulted in many students being unable to attend regular lectures due to lack of basic transport facilities,” said Arun Chavan, secretary, MASU.

At present, there are 976 ITIs across the state, both government-aided and private, offering 146,000 seats for vocational training in plumbing, welding, motor vehicle repair, electrical repairs etc. Thousands of students opt for these courses every year after passing class 10 examinations.

In November last year, ITI students were asked to attend in-person classes at their respective institutes to appear for practical exams. Since a large part of the vocational curriculum at the ITIs depends on practical sessions, in-person attendance is considered important, but many students are finding it difficult to travel to institutes.

“Most students studying in ITIs are below 18 years of age, and are therefore yet to receive their vaccination. This is one of the reasons they aren’t allowed to travel by train. It’s time the government either starts vaccinations for them or makes other arrangements to help these students who already come from very financially strained families,” said the principal of a Vashi based ITI.

An official from the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) told HT that they have sought help from Railways and the state government in this matter even in the past, but haven’t received a positive response.