Marked For Scrapping, A KSRTC Bus In Kerala Was Turned Into A State Of The Art Classroom
On Wednesday, after nearly two years of online classes, regular classes resumed in schools across Kerala.
Some 42.9 lakh students including 4 lakh who were admitted to Class I this year stepped inside the classrooms on Wednesday amid the school-level celebrations to welcome them.
For the students who had missed their friends and teacher for nearly two years due to COVID-19, it was a welcome relief to be back in school.
Students of the Government Lower Primary School in Manacaud, Thiruvananthapuram had a surprise waiting for them on the school campus.
A double-decker bus that has been transformed into a classroom.
Old bus, new classroom
The two-tier classroom has been created out of one of two decrepit low-floor buses out of hundreds meant to be scrapped by the Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
The classroom on wheels has a TV, air-conditioner, chairs with multi-coloured tables, benches, and shelves for books, but the steering wheel and the driver¡¯s seat have been retained so that children can play as if they were driving the bus.
The upper tier is designed for reading and recreation.
The sides of the bus sport a light-blue and yellow colour with drawings of birds, trees, animals and books, among others.
Last month Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju agreed to provide the two buses to the government school.
The government had also proposed to convert old low-floor buses into classrooms instead of scrapping them.
Economical than building new classrooms
According to the minister, building a classroom from scratch costs crores of rupees, while converting the bus into a classroom would cost significantly less.
Earlier, the Kerala University campus in Karyavattom had also converted a KSRTC bus into a classroom at the Bioinformatics department.?
Last month KSRTC had informed the Kerala High Court that it had around 239 low-floor rear-engine buses lying unused in its depots.
The 239 buses are more than nine years old and have run over five lakh kilometers. Therefore, the corporation has decided to scrap them.?
Night stay on AC bus for Rs 100 in Munnar
This is not the first time Kerala has used KSRTC buses to good use other than for public transport.
In 2020, KSRTC introduced deluxe buses converted into sleepers with 16 berths each, to provide budget accommodation for tourists visiting the Munnar hill station.
The budget accommodation for tourists costs just Rs 100 for a night and has facilities like mobile charging points, hot water, luggage lockers and a small dining area.
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