BENGALURU: Students studying in government-run schools in and around Bengaluru may have to wait longer to get their free bus passes as promised by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. Commissioner of Public Instruction (CPI) P C Jaffer’s internal circular (dated July 31, 2018) has directed Bengaluru south, north and rural, and Ramanagaram Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPI), jurisdictional block education officers (BEOs) and headmasters to familiarise themselves with BMTC’s new online concessional bus pass system and disburse smart cards to primary and high school students.
The CPI has directed the officials to contact Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and fix a date to organise a training workshop for nodal officers in this regard. The circular also attached BMTC’s letter (sent on June 14) highlighting the amount to be paid by students in order to get the concessional bus passes in the form of smart cards.
Principal Secretary to Education Department (Primary and Secondary Education) Shalini Rajneesh and Jaffer did not respond to calls and messages from The New Indian Express.A DDPI, on condition of anonymity, said they were yet to receive the circular.
BMTC officials informed TNIE that nearly 2,000 smart cards had already been delivered to students. Another 3,000 smart cards were being dispatched to schools on Friday and by Saturday a total of 6,000-7,000 smart cards will be distributed among students.
Transport Minister D C Thammanna said, “I have not seen the circular and will look at it to see whether it is contrary to the government’s declaration on distributing free bus passes and then take a decision,’’ he told TNIE.
BMTC AWAITS GOVT ORDER
Following Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s promise to distribute free bus passes to students in government-run schools and colleges, BMTC had been maintaining that they had not received any order from the state government in this regard.