Attendance in schools hit as buses away to Moga rally

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 8

Many schools in Jalandhar remained closed today, with a majority of the school buses in the district having been pressed for service for the Chief Minister’s rally in Moga.

While in all, as many as 300 buses from city schools had been sent to Moga, schools said they were provided Rs 4,000 per bus by the government through cheque.

Sources said, “Hundreds of buses from the district alone have been pressed into service for the rally. While schools with 10 buses were asked to dispense with five, those with 20 were asked to press 12 to 13 and so on. Many private schools have also remained closed due to this as there was no way for children to make it to school in the chilly morning. On top of it, the fog made matters worse. We had at least 30 per cent of our students skip school today.”

Sources at a private school said, “If the DTO asks for buses, we can’t refuse. Schools have been paid Rs 4,000 per bus by the administration. Messages had already been sent to students last evening that the bus service won’t be available today.”

Various schools, including branches of MR International School (Adampur), at Kartarpur, Shahkot, Nakodar, urban Jalandhar areas, among others, remained closed. Meanwhile, the fog also took its toll on attendance in many schools.

A private school owner said, “Of our buses, seven had been pressed into service. But we did not ask parents to ferry students. The buses were made to go through dual routes to facilitate children.”

However, some were not that lucky, a resident of Nakodar said, “My daughter had to go to school today. In this blinding fog, how is it possible to drop them? Under compulsion, she had to skip school.”