Special buses for students appearing for Intermediate Public Examinations

HYD: The state government on Thursday announced special bus services for students appearing for Intermediate Public Examinations (IPE) on March 10, in view of the `Chalo Assembly' call given by TRS and Telangana JAC. K Parthasarathi, minister for secondary education, announced that special APSRTC buses will be provided to facilitate smooth transport of students from their homes to the examination centres.

The minister assured worried parents and students that the examinations will be held as per schedule without disruption.

The minister also stated that in areas where trouble is anticipated, students will be given an option to arrive a day earlier and stay on the premises of the examination centres. "The students who have their examinations scheduled in colleges with residential facilities will be allowed to reside in the same premises to avoid commuting problems," Parthasarathi said.

Nevertheless, managements of state board schools said that the government's bus service does not make for a foolproof arrangement as `T' agitators have stoned buses during their protests. They said the government needs to come out with stronger statements to deter protesters from disrupting the board exams.

However, the fate of CBSE and ICSE students, who have their examinations scheduled for March 10, is not yet known. "Even the government officials are not talking about CBSE students' problems. We appeal to supporters of the agitation to postpone the `Chalo Hyderabad' programme taking into consideration the plight of students," said D Ramachandram, a parent.

D Usha Reddy, principal, Meridian School and chairperson, Hyderabad Sahodaya Schools Complex, stated that many of the school managements want the state government to provide them security. "The protesters should allow students who show their identity cards or hall tickets to commute on March 10. We request the agitators to be considerate," she said, adding that the government should take notice of the plight of students from central boards like CBSE and ICSE and treat them at par with Intermediate students.

Meanwhile, several schools and colleges from the state, especially those which are run by Andhra and Rayalaseema managements, have employed private security guards to allow the smooth conduct of examinations. "The examination centres in private colleges might get disturbed by agitators and hence we have employed private security agencies to secure the area," stated officials of a corporate college. Corporate colleges, including Narayana and Chaitanya group of institutions had earlier employed security personnel before the release of Srikrishna Committee report on January 6.

Meanwhile, private security agencies from the city stated that they have witnessed a spurt in the number of private schools and colleges looking for private security in the last few months. "There have been more calls from educational institutions in the past six months. From November 2010, school managements have deputed guards to protect their infrastructure. With the examinations coming up we are expecting more business," stated an official of Rakshak Security Force, Tarnaka.