Dubai: Parents and pupils heaved a sigh of relief when the Indian High school in Dubai on Sunday agreed to offer bus services from Sharjah.
Private buses that used to provide the services abruptly stopped doing so at the beginning of the second term, leaving an estimated 400 pupils stranded.
Ashok Kumar, chief executive officer of the Indian High School, on Sunday said from today bus services will be provided to pupils of Kindergarten 1 and 2, for girls from grades one to four residing in Sharjah.
"Initially, the buses will operate on a limited stops route, after which the route will gradually be expanded and the number of stops increased," he said. "Bus services for our boys will start from September 10. For the students of higher classes, the school has been providing two buses on the Sharjah route since April of this year."
New rule
Kumar was keen to point out that the school is not at fault and would do whatever is necessary to ensure that pupils do not miss another school day.
"The school cannot shrug off the situation and get pupils into a problem in the middle of the session," he said.
The school had made it clear to parents during admissions that it would not be offering bus services to its pupils living in Sharjah and so parents said they were left with no choice but to use the services of private bus operators.
One of the main reasons the private buses halted their services was due to a new rule issued by the Sharjah Public Transport Corporation under which private buses are banned from commuting school children unless they had registered for this particular service with the Corporation. Parents called a meeting on Friday to address the situation.
"A group of parents also went and met the school's CEO on Saturday to find a solution," one parent told Gulf News. "I live in Al Nahda, in Sharjah. My child is a grade-four pupil and I have been dropping him off to school and picking him up after school. His school ends at 2.20pm while my work finishes at 3.30pm. My son waits for me at school until I come to pick him up."
Does your child use the school bus to commute? Have you faced any problems recently? What alternatives did you seek?
By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter