BENGALURU: With only one or two government buses serving Cheemangala Government High School and no bicycle scheme from the state government, teachers, former students and donors have come together to support children who travel long distances to attend classes.
The group has raised funds and distributed 25 bicycles to boys and girls studying in high school.
Shivakumar M, a Maths teacher at the school, explained the difficulties faced by students.
He said, "A government bus facility is available for our school children but the bus arrives too late. While we start the classes at 9 am, the bus arrives at 10.30 pm. When the students leave school at 5.30 pm, it is too dark by the time they reach home by walking. Students also tend to ask for a lift on two wheelers from passers by but it is not safe for them. Therefore, we decided to provide cycles to 25 kids who travel from 8 to 15 kilometers away from school to boys and girls."
According to the school authorities, many students travel between 8 and 15 kilometres every day.
The lack of timely transport has caused delays and safety concerns, especially during evening hours.
Shivakumar added, "Some of our student alumni, teachers and SDMC and panchayat members donated funds to purchase cycles for students. Like the book library, we have identified it as a cycle library which will have cycles instead of books. We have also made an agreement with the students and parents that they have to return the cycles to schools so that it can be passed to other students in the future. If there is any slight damage, parents have to get the cycles repaired and hand it over to us."
The school has now created a “cycle library” model, where bicycles are issued to students and later returned so that other children can use them in the coming years. The initiative aims to ensure safe and timely travel for students while also encouraging responsibility among families.
Encouraged by the response, the school staff is now making arrangements to collect more donations to purchase bicycles for another 120 students who are in need of transport support.
