While many parents dropped the children in their private vehicles, many chose not to send them to school. Private institutions such as Kensri School in Mariyannapalya, near Nagavara Tank, Bishop Cotton Boys School in Richmond Circle and Sishugraha in HAL III Stage closed for the day.

In some schools, parents, worried that the strike might cause problems, accompanied their wards. At Bishop Cotton’s, private vehicles outnumbered the school vans. The scene was similar at many other institutions.
Many schoolchildren, especially those studying in lower classes, depend on maxi-cabs. Poor attendance in most schools reflected the extent of participation of van drivers in the strike.

Said Mr Nagarjun, a parent: “I and my son kept waiting for the van in the morning. Only when I learnt from others that the school had declared a holiday could I relax.”

Schools coming under the Department of Public Instruction had been closed for three days starting Monday as the child census work had commenced. These schools are scheduled to reopen on January 24. Most school vans are expected to be back on duty on Tuesday, although the truckers’ strike is yet to be resolved.