Pvt schools refuse to provide vehicles for poll duty

Private schools across the state have raised objection against the local administrative authorities for asking them to provide school vehicles/buses for election work.

The representatives of school managements said that providing their buses for poll duty causes inconvenience since students and the staff would be deprived of transport facility.

“We have received a communication from tahsildar’s office asking us to provide school vehicles for transportation of election staff along with EVMs and other necessary materials to voting booths,” said a representative of a school in Kolar.

DH accessed a copy of the communication from tahsildar’s office to private school managements.

D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary of Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka said that despite several requests and representations to the government and authorities concerned not to disturb school teachers in the name of election work, the local authorities still continue harass teachers. “This year, we have been asked to part with school vehicles also,” he said.

“We are receiving such complaints from several school managements across the state. Even Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is issuing such orders, despite our objection” Shashi Kumar said. He said their petition to principal secretary to Education department had not elicited any reply.

It can be recalled that during the recent Phone-In programme by the primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar, many teachers spoke about inconvenience they face in attending to election work and had requested to spare them from poll duty in future.