Times News Network

Bangalore, May 10: Schools in Bangalore will start a couple of hours earlier from June 1 to beat the peak-hour traffic rush. Under the new rule, schools will start by 8.30 am and wind up by 2.30 pm.

Though a majority of the English-medium schools in the city, including CBSE/ICSE schools, start before 8.30 am, the education department has altered the school timings of government, aided and unaided schools.

"Based on a suggestion from the chief secretary, we called a meeting of all stakeholders, including Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and traffic police. A study was conducted on school timings in eight blocks to map the distance travelled by students and the mode of transport. Then we decided that schools should open by 8.30 am. This will be done on an experimental basis for three months," commissioner for public instruction Madan Gopal told The Times of India.

"BMTC is planning to run dedicated school buses before 8.30 am to help children. There is some resistance among government school teachers to the new timing," he said.

The study showed that in Bangalore North, only a few schools open by 8.30 am. Government and aided schools operate between 9 am and 3.30 pm, while some of the unaided schools run between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm.

But in Bangalore South, a majority of the 1,237 schools function between 10.30 am and 4.30 pm.