TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: The government handed over two Bal-Rath buses to Government High School (GHS) at Agonda and Gaondongrim on Thursday, thus providing all the high schools in the taluka with bus facilities.
Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar handed over the buses for the convenience of students in the taluka.
With these allotments, all 17 high schools (aided and government) in Canacona are now equipped with at-least one Bal-Rath bus. GHS Agonda and Gaondongrim were the only two schools left behind, as all other high schools including government schools were provided Bal-Rath buses in the last academic year.
Speaking after handing over a KTC bus as Bal-Rath bus to GHS Agonda, Tawadkar in the presence of Agonda Sarpanch Navnita N Gaonkar and KTC director Sarvanand Bhagat explained how government gives more importance to education and initiating different schemes to benefit the students.
Bhagat also spoke on the occasion, GHS Agonda senior teacher Amelia Pires welcomed, while Ramesh Dessai proposed the vote of thanks.
Later, Tawadkar handed another Bal-Rath bus to GHS Gaondongrim.
Meanwhile, sources told Herald that the State government plans to outsource the driver and the assistant at the discretion of those government schools which have been allotted KTC buses in lieu of Bal-Rath buses since the last academic year.
Presently, KTC’s driver and conductor who are on the KTC payroll are engaged to operate the KTC as makeshift Bal-Rath buses to the respective government schools.
Sources informed that the driver and assistant of Bal-Rath buses engaged by schools managements are paid a fixed Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively, while KTC employees draw full salary for the same work.
GHS-Gowal-Khola, GHS-Shristhal, GHS-Sadolxem, GHS-Cotigao, GHS-Shristhal are the other government schools already provided with KTC-Bal-Rath buses since last academic year.
