Student transporters urged not to overcrowd
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 02 2022: Federal Students' Organisation of Manipur (FESOK) has contended that school van service providers are causing difficulties to the students by overcrowding them and making them to wait for long hours under the pretext of fuel price hike and new school timing.

In a release, FESOK secretary publicity Sanasam Preety recalled that the government had issued a notification for implementing new school timing on March 26 to which the van service providers expressed inconveniences.

In view of the increase in fuel price and the new timing of schools, the van service providers carried students more than its capacity, she contended.

Informing that the timing for pre-primary to upper primary is from 8 am to 10 am, and from 8.30 am to 12.30 am for Class I to V, she continued that the van service providers pick up students from 6am and finally drop them to their residences two hours after the end of school hours.

The transportation time is twice the school hours.

As such the students suffer a lot, she maintained, while stating that students now fear of attending schools.

Highlighting the need of Child Right Commission to look into the matter, Preety said that education department should also frame a policy to mitigate the problems being faced by the young students.

In view of the increasing price of fuel, van drivers have been hiking the fare at an enormous rate.

Subsequently, students from poor families are facing a grave situation where they might not be able to attend school.

She asserted that van drivers should stop transporting students more than its capacity and should not hike the fare arbitrarily by taking undue advantage of the increasing fuel.

School authority should not overlook the matter by considering that it is not related with the school, Preety continued, while adding that FESOK will start looking into the activities of the van service providers.

Comment