Knowledge
Remote rural schools in Goa now empowered to hire additional buses for ferrying students
The state government has allowed remote rural government high schools in talukas like Sattari, Pernem and Sanguem to hire additional buses to ferry students to and from school. The ferrying charges are fixed at Rs. 2,400 per day for a maximum of 80km. The safety and the maintenance of bus would
Very soon rural government high schools in Goa will have a helping hand in ferrying students from their homes to the school and vice versa too. Currently, one Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) bus is provided to every government high school in Goa, to help them transport students to and from schools conveniently. But the present arrangement is proving to be insufficient as students have to traverse vast distances to reach schools. To remedy this, the state government has framed a new scheme where these schools will be entitled to hire additional buses.
However, this scheme is applicable only for schools in remote talukas i.e. Sattari, Pernem and Sanguem.
Unlike other state government schemes, this scheme is very well defined and covers almost all parameters. Under the scheme, the Directorate of Education (DoE) will hire private buses by registering them with the directorate, through advertisements issued in local dailies. The ferrying charges for each bus will be 2,400 per day to cover a maximum of 80km per day. These buses will ply on a route determined by the school's parent teacher association (PTA).
"The bus owner will be responsible for safety of the children from the time of boarding, during the journey and alighting from the bus. The owner should obtain necessary vehicle fitness/certificate of road worthiness from the directorate of transport every 6 months," the scheme document states.
The initiative has taken care to cover contingencies as it states that the bus owner will be responsible to provide alternate means of transport in case of an accident, breakdown or in case the bus is unavailable due to major maintenance works.
"The (DoE) will hire buses less than 3 years old. The payments will be made on monthly basis on receipt of certified bills through the head of the school duly endorsed by school PTA chairperson," the scheme further reads.
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