BENGALURU: All stakeholders including school management, parents, teachers, traffic police and private transportation associations unanimously opposed the suggestions of changing school timings to decongest Bengaluru.
The decision comes after the High Court of Karnataka had directed the Primary Education and Literacy Department to hold discussions on the probable change in school hours.
Stakeholders reiterated that changing school timings will be detrimental to children’s health with no physical activity and a big hassle for parents especially those with jobs. Starting schools early will mean parents will have to wake up earlier, midday meal makers who start work by 4:30 am will have to compromise on their sleep schedules and teachers who have children will also suffer.
Ritesh Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, of the Department of School Education and Literacy said, “Different stakeholders have listed reasons opposing the change in current school timings. There are some ground realities that we need to analyse before making decisions, same will be put forth in Court.” He added that the Bangalore City Police has identified eight hotspots including the Central Business District (CBD) and some locations near Outer Ring Road (ORR) where measures will be taken to regulate traffic.
Many associations also voiced that not all the congestion in the city is due to schools and the government should find alternatives to the traffic jams.
Shashi Kumar D, General Secretary, Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka (KAMS) said, “Parents enrolling their students in CBD area should be made to sign an undertaking to use only public or school transport instead of their personal vehicles.” He also added that the government should consider staggering the time for vehicles entering the city during early hours as they end up being stuck in traffic during school timings.
Other suggestions included pooling resources and securing BMTC buses for schools that don’t have private buses running. This can help reduce congestion in the area where schools are located on the same road. Parents said this initiative will also help from burning a hole in their pocket as private transport costs up to 25,000-30,000 annually for each student.
The stakeholders complained that many roads leading to schools and colleges are in bad shape which slows down vehicles and should be addressed on an urgent basis.
“Depending on the requirements Traffic Warden in certain high-density areas can be roped in to facilitate easy movement of vehicles in the morning and afternoons,” said BN Yogananda said RTE Students and Parent’s Association.