Why Pay for School Bus for 12 Months When School Functions only for 10 Months? Parents Complain – Transporters and Government Respond
Parents across Maharashtra are raising concerns over being charged school bus fees for 12 months despite the academic year spanning only 10 months. They argue that this practice is unfair and places an unnecessary financial burden on families. Meanwhile, school bus operators cite ongoing expenses such as GST, road tax, insurance, maintenance, and staff salaries, which they claim necessitate year-round fees.
The Maharashtra government has formed a single-member committee to address these grievances and develop a comprehensive school bus policy. School bus owners, represented by Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA), Maharashtra, have urged the government to standardize fee structures and provide concessions, including extending the vehicle lifespan from the current eight years to 12-15 years, as seen in other states. Garg emphasized that buses undergo significant maintenance during vacations and are restricted to school use only, making it difficult to offset costs.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik acknowledged parents’ concerns, stating that collecting fees in a lump sum is unreasonable and burdensome. He suggested that fees should be collected monthly instead. Additionally, Sarnaik stressed the importance of safety measures, such as panic buttons, fire sprinklers, GPS tracking, and CCTV cameras, which should be under unified control for better monitoring.
Parents, however, remain dissatisfied. Arundhati Chavan, president of the Parents Teachers Association United Forum, called the practice exploitative, highlighting the already high and unpredictable fee hikes. Prasad Gokhale of the state parents’ group criticized English medium schools for perpetuating such issues and advised parents to consider Marathi medium schools to avoid exploitation.
The debate continues as stakeholders await the committee’s recommendations, which aim to balance the financial sustainability of bus operators with the affordability and safety concerns of parents.
