TIRUCHY: For tribal students from remote villages under Sobanapuram panchayat of the district, commuting to school is a daily challenge. Over 70 students travel about eight kilometres to attend the government high school in Sobanapuram, with some cycling, others relying on parents for lifts, and more than 40 depending on a single government bus that runs twice a day.
S Saran (Class 10) and S Krithishkumar (Class 8) of Senjerimalai are among those facing this challenge. Their mother, S Sumadhi, a farm worker, wakes up at 5 am to tend to the farm and prepare meals for her children, while their father, K Senthilraja, assists by driving them to school when he isn’t operating tractors.
The Thuraiyur-Kancherimalaipudhur bus arrives at the village at 6.30 am, far too early for students attending school at 9 am. “Students wait for over an hour and a half before school opens, often eating their packed breakfast while they wait. For several years, we have been asking for a bus that arrives closer to 8 am, but our requests have gone unheard,” Senthilraja said.
To make matters worse, the bus doesn’t stop at the school gate, forcing them to walk through the heat or rain to reach the premises. When contacted, a TNSTC official in Tiruchy said that any change in services would depend on bus availability.