TNN

Bangalore, Mar 18: To ease the morning traffic congestion, the state government decided on Monday that with effect from June all schools coming under the jurisdiction of Bangalore will start 30 minutes earlier than the present schedule.

According to the new timings, government schools will work from 9 am to 3 pm and private aided and unaided schools from 8.30 am to 2.30 pm. This was decided at a meeting of education, police and transport department officials and teachers’ association representatives on Monday.

Now, government schools start at 9.30 am and close at 3.30 pm while private institutions function between 9 am and 3 pm.

Officials expect the 30-minute advancement will ensure smooth movement of school buses and other vehicles carrying schoolchildren. "This will help students reach school on time without hassles. The decision will be sent to governor Rameshwar Thakur’s executive committee. The EC will take a final decision," primary and secondary education secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar told TOI.

General secretary of the state secondary school teachers’ association Narayan Swamy demanded that government schools needed to open slightly later than private schools. This was because most children attending government schools were from poor households who had to finish errands at home before coming, he argued.

Unaided schools have opposed the move. "We feel such rules should not apply to children under class five," Karnataka Unaided Schools Association secretary T Mariappa said.

Other private schools also expressed similar feelings. "We would like the government to provide quarters to teachers in the school campus. This will ensure they don’t have to commute for long distances to reach the school," K S Krishna Iyer, general secretary, private schools managements association in Karnataka, said. "Till then, it is difficult to implement early timings," he added.