Bengaluru School Timings To Change To Fix Traffic? Education Dept to Meet Stakeholders

The Karnataka Education Department is considering changing school timings in Bengaluru to fix traffic congestion. The department has called a meeting with representatives of private and government schools on September 23 to discuss the proposal.

The Karnataka High Court has recently recommended that the education department reevaluate the school timings in the city to address the growing traffic issues.

Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa is set to convene a meeting with officials from the education department and representatives of private schools, as reported by Tv9 Kannada.

A division bench of the Karnataka High Court, presided over by Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit, made this suggestion after considering a public petition. The current school timings in the city generally range from 8:45/9 am to 3:30/4 pm. The government is reportedly contemplating an adjustment of starting school an hour earlier in the city to alleviate traffic congestion. Previous proposals to start schools an hour earlier or later were met with opposition from parents and private school operators for various reasons.

What are the drawbacks of starting schools earlier?

• Children would need to wake up earlier, necessitating adjustments in the schedules of working parents to prepare their children for school.
• Earlier school start times may reduce children's participation in sports and other extracurricular activities.
• Alterations in sleeping patterns due to early start times could have adverse effects on children's health.

It's worth noting that Karnataka has a total of 72,824 government schools and 17,381 private schools, catering to over 1.04 crore school-going students in the state, according to reports.