Pirzada Shakir
Srinagar : In a bizarre incident in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, Zonal Education Officer Trehgam Manzoor Ahmad Bhat on Wednesday directed a private higher secondary school not to use “school transport” to carry students.
According to order copy issued, on Wednesday, Bhat inspected “Dream World Educational Institute,” a private higher secondary school in Kupwara, and alleged that SOP was not being followed at the school, which the administration denies.
Manzoor Ahmad vide order no. 395-396 dated 30-10-2020 directed the school administration not to use school transport to carry students to school as he says “it is not mentioned in the latest order” guiding the functioning of classwork in schools (9th-12th standard) partially opened after more than 6 months of closure amid the COVID19 pandemic.
The order reads, “Keeping in view all the above facts Chairman/ Principal Dream World educational institute is strictly directed to follow SOP’s and immediately stop using school transport, otherwise strict action will be initiated against school authorities.”
The government of Jammu and Kashmir reopened schools on September 21, partially to facilitate the students to clear their doubts in any subject in their classrooms while following all the precautionary measures to avoid COVID-19.
“The attendance of the students is voluntary and based on the consent of their parents.”
The Chairman of the school said that they have students who live many kilometers away from school and cannot reach school without transport. On the demand of parents, we have been using school transport to facilitate students taking all the precautionary measures into consideration. “The government order also mentions that SOP is to be followed which we have been doing.”
“When schools in Srinagar and other districts can use transport to carry students why cannot we?” he asked.
ZEO Trehgam Manzoor Ahmad Bhat said that other schools in Kupwara don’t use school transport why should they?
When asked about the latest government order allowing public transport to ply, ZEO said that “school transport” doesn’t come under “public transport.”
Bhat further told that he was going to meet District Development Commissioner Kupwara to know what order actually reads and hung up the call.
ADDC Kupwara Nazir Ahmad lone maintained that Schools opened across Jammu and Kashmir have to follow SOP as per order served by the government and can use school transport with 50% seat occupancy and other SOP’s.
