Transport department asks school to submit details of transport rent structure

School bus fee structure row

Transport department asks school to submit details of transport rent structure

Yash Khajuria

JAMMU, June 2: Transport Department has sought details of school transport and the bus rent structure being charged by the various private schools in Jammu from the students for the academic year 2012-13.

The Department in a joint meeting held in the office of the transport commissioner Jammu and Kashmir at Rail head complex Jammu under the chairmanship of Regional Transport officer Jammu in which principle / managers of the private schools, joint director school education Jammu, officers of transport department representatives of Student-Parent Association for Child Education (SPACE) were present.

Administration has urged upon the school authorities to submit the details of school transport and the bus fee structure being charged from the students of their respective schools for the current time i.e. year 2012-13. So that the information given after them will be examined and a consolidated report could be submitted to the transport commissioner J&K Srinagar for further review and vital directions.

Pertinently the parents are demanding a reduction in bus fares and justification from schools for the increase in fares despite an order by the Transport Department last year, fixing the monthly fares at Rs 180. They feel the hike in fares is unfair as the government has already notified a standard fee structure for schools.

School managements have been claiming that they cannot meet the costs incurred on fuel, salaries of bus driver and general maintenance of vehicles by charging a measly bus fare of Rs 180 per head, as fixed by the government.

The parents, on the other hand, are not compelled by the school economics, as RD Sharma, member of the Student-Parent Association for Child Education (SPACE), maintains: “The buses are bought with school funds and students get charged for the same at the time of admission. There is no logic behind counting profit on school buses.”

The same argument was made in a recently held meeting, wherein it was decided that bus fares would soon be revised and parents would not be fleeced further.

With around 40,000 students being ferried by around 850 privately run buses, parents feel it is a matter of concern that most buses are over 15 years old and barring 180 buses, the rest of the buses are being used without proper documentation.

However, around 40,000 students in the state are utilising private buses in order to commute to their educational institutions. This is an open fact that most of the schools have fallen short to provide the institutional vehicles for the students as they hire private vehicle to overcome the drop, which costs an extra charge over the school authorities too.

‘Parents being charged for 11 months, whereas buses remain in use for only nine months due to the seasonal vacations in both region of the state.