Private schools are still struggling to renew their fitness certificates for school buses, as a late fee is burdening them as the new Central Act of Rs 50 daily penalty has been instituted. This comes as bad news, especially since the new academic year is just a few days away.
Telangana Recognised School Management Association (TRSMA) asked the Transport department to waive the late fee fine for the renewal of fitness certificates.
The school management officials stated that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all schools were closed for almost 18 months, causing school buses to be halted on school premises.
After the schools reopened in September last year, many students preferred to use their personal transportation instead of school buses. Because of this, most school buses did not renew their fitness certificates for 2021-22.
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In spite of all these situations, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a penalty of Rs 50 a day for those who failed to obtain fitness certificates.
The president of TRSMA, Y Shekar Rao, stated that charging late fees is not ethical as for almost 18 months, the schools were closed due to the pandemic. Without fitness certificates, the buses cannot run. There are about 22,000 educational institution buses that were off the road for nearly 18 months, and even after they return to school, the buses remain parked in the parking lot because of severe hardships and financial losses.
The Central Government has given an order for the extension of the validity of documents for all vehicles for one year from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021. However, the Transport Department is imposing a late fee fine of Rs 50 per day, which amounts to about Rs 36,000 per bus. Schools face financial hardship due to prolonged closures, Shekar said.
Shiva Ramkrishna, correspondent of St. Sai High School, said that it is not right to collect Rs 50 per day as a late fee fine, and road taxes are levied even when the buses are not being used. Government officials had extended the validity of documents, but transport officials adopted unscrupulous methods, forcing us to pay the penalty even for an extended period.
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