Y.S. RANA , CHANDIGARH—SEPT 27—While their counterparts in the governmental as well private schools bear the brunt of price rise across the country, the students of government schools and colleges of Chandigarh enjoy transportation at a very subsidized rate. Believe it or not, the Chandigarh Administration provides transportation to around 26,000 pass holder students to and fro of their schools @ Rs two per day that may be the lowest transportation rate across the world. On the other, their counterparts in private schools are being provided the same facility at the rate of Rs 30 per day.
Sparing the short-of-time parents that is too at a very nominal price from daily hassle of drop and pick grind, the Administration is fast-tracking the move to provide more comfortable journey to its students. A proposal has been sent by the Home Department to the Chandigarh Transport Authority to look into the feasibility of allowing pass holder students to use AC buses too at the same rate
Stating this to Daily Post the official of the Education Department, Chandigarh said that the bus service covered the Tricity of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali at the same rate whereas their counterparts in private schools have to shell out between Rs 1000 to 1200 who came from Mohali and Panchkula to their schools in Chandigarh.
A proposal, outlining broad contours of the bus service christened ‘Micro School Escort’ is at place and CTU runs its buses at 26 routes as identified by the Education Department covering a number of rural as well as urban schools of the city. Approximately, the authority would purchase 90 additional buses for the purpose, stated the official. “If all goes as planned by the UT Administration, Chandigarh seems set to witness this scenario once the CTU puts its stamp of approval on the Home Department’s proposal,” says the official.
The Administration’s effort would be not to put more burden on the pockets of students but there may be a nominal increase in the fare but it would still be much less than what was being charged by the private schools, assured the official.
Recently, the Administration has arranged this facility only for girl students of government girls senior secondary school, Sector 18 passing through markets of Sector 19, 27, 28, grain market, Bapu Dham, railway station, Darua, Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran, Raipur Kalan, Tribune Colony, Baltana and Zirakpur.
At present, the CTU has 76 AC buses and it has a proposal to add 50 more such buses in its fleet for the benefit of students. The CTU will monitor the scheme from time to time in association with the education department.
Aims at facilitating the students community at a nominal price, it will not only cut down the use of private vehicles drop children at school but more importantly would be the best means of transport in respect of safety and security of children, said the official.
No school must be allowed to function , which can not provide cheapest as well as safest & fast, not fastest transportation facility, to the students, if this much hyped SARV SHIKSHA ABHYAAN, is to be implemented in the right perspective.
Even the load of School Bags, which is almost effecting the Back Bones of around 80% Eighty Per Cent School going Children, must be lessened, by finding out some system so that the Students can be enlightened of this unwarranted load of Books etc., by replacing them in Pen Drives & Lap Tops in this Electronic Age of Computers, as is a practice in some countries across globe.
Rather The 3rd Most Important Organ Of Governance Of The Affairs Of The Nation ought to take **SUO MOTU NOTICE*** in the above contexts & must deliver necessary directions to the concerned Authorities, to get done the required changes —dr.amritgaur