Sir,
This refers to news item’New OfficeTimings from Oct 1, DE, September 28, 2017. The Government has ordered that the working hours of offices and educational institutions located in the Jammu division will be from 10.00 A.M to 4 P.M and new timings will come into effect from October 1, 2017 till April 30, 2018.It is pertinent to mention here that a large number of students studying in Government schools, especially at the Secondary and Higher Secondary level hail from suburban, rural areas and in some cases from remote areas,some of whom have to walk and then commute daily in buses and minibuses to reach their schools in the cities and towns.
As the winter timings of various offices of all Government offices in towns and cities,especially at district and capital headquarters are also from 10.00A.M to 4 P.M, there is heavy rush of vehicles and it is not uncommon to see minibuses being heavily overloaded at these peak hours in the morning and evening.As such,there is every likelihood of mishaps during peak hours of traffic around 10 A.M and 4 p.m respectively at the time of opening and closure of offices and schools.Not only this,the schools such as APS,KVs and Private schools affiliated to CBSE have working hours generally from 8 to 2 or 9 to 3 during winters.Even the private schools affiliated to the JKBOSE observe working hours from 9 to 3 during winter.
When these schools can function during these hours, there is no reason why Government schools cannot.So it is in the interest of the students if the winter timings of schools functioning within the Municipal/ Town Area limits and suburban areas be changed from 9 to 3.All this will help to ease the traffic and avoid mishaps during peak hours of traffic.However,during extreme weather conditions such as foggy/ cold conditions,the time can be changed temporarily for the convenience of the students. It is hoped that the Government will review the school timings in the Jammu division and take appropriate decision in this regard.
Yours etc…
Ashok Sharma,
Udhampur
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