Many Engineering, Medical, Dental, Pharmacy colleges are located in outskirts of the city. This is because, the extent of land as prescribed by AICTE for according permission, is available at affordable price only at those distant places. Some institutions are located at a distance of even 60 to 65 kms. And most of these colleges do not have hostel facility. Even if the hostel facility is available the students do not prefer to stay in them. They prefer to stay with their parents relatives if possible, or in private hostels/rooms in the main city. Because it benefits the students from having access for coaching or training centres for many entrance tests like GRE, TOEFL, CAT, GMAT etc. or to receive training in the latest software languages or soft skills including spoken/written English or to enrich themselves with another Foreign language like French , German etc, to create for oneself better employment opportunities

Hence it has become inevitable for these professional college students to travel either in the APSRTC or in the College buses. Traveling to and fro to the college in RTC bus with general bus pass, though cheaper, involves lot of trouble with no assured seat. The student is also put to unexplainable hardships during his travel to the college. The serenity and calmness with which the student is supposed to attend to his class work gets spoiled in the mad rush and hanging on to the footboards of RTC buses.

To avoid this, some colleges are hiring buses from private transporters. As a side note, it may be noted that these colleges get the ownership of the vehicle transferred in their name to avail maximum road tax concession. This kind of clandestine and illegal activity is being resorted to by some college managements for providing transport to their students from different places in the city. Number of accidents and consequent deaths of innocent students are taking place frequently due to bad maintenance of buses by the private bus owners. Some good professional colleges backed by good managements are maintaining and running their own buses well maintained with no track record of accidents. An yearly transport fee ranging from Rs.8000 to Rs.12000. is being collected from each student for providing this service.

The time spent by the student traveling to and fro is a minimum of 3 hours a day. There are colleges which ply their buses to cover a distance of 65 to 70 kms one way involving 4 hours travel time everyday. Keeping aside the physical exertion the students undergo as a result of this up & down journeys, this article focuses on the aspect as to how students can gainfully spend their travel time of 3 to 4 hours.

Usually, the students resort to chit chatting with their student friends most of the days. Reading a book or notes for some time especially during internal or university examination days. Sometimes, they engage themselves in arguments and so on which are not related to their academics. There are also instances of bickerings exhibited violently. Some students very frequently switch on their iPODs to hear to their favorite hit/super hit songs from latest movies with shared ear phones. Their love of cine music is so much that they are not mindful of what is happening in and around them. Discussion on how to spend every evening is almost a routine for the students during this travel time. In most of the buses the FM radio is switched-on and the students are almost compelled to hear irrelevant conversation of the RJs, and hear the so called super hit songs repeatedly broadcasted.

Unfortunately, neither the students nor the college authorities are mindful of these precious 4 hours which the students waste everyday.

However, students and management of colleges, with their innovative and creative minds, can think of measures for the gainful use of travel time. They can provid some useful inputs which are needed for their immediate academics and also for preparing them for challenges and complexities of life at large.

Most of the Engineering students lack the minimum general awareness level, owing to rote learning they are subjected to in the corporate junior colleges. The main focus of these colleges is only on obtaining good marks and rank. There is gross neglect of the holistic development of student’s personality through co/extra curricular activities. The 4 hours travel time may be utilized to enhance the general awareness levels of the students. Those 4 hours may be converted very usefully by providing audio visual electronic gadgets like TV, DVD player in these buses/vans.

A few tips on what they can play are as follows:

v The biographies of eminent scientists ,saints , Engineers  and patriots

v Great speeches of spiritual leaders

vQuiz questions on their academics especially on the days of  academic  quiz      tests of the university

v  General quiz questions and answers

v Experiences/life stories of Achievers / Performers

v Basic concepts of Indian heritage and culture, its political and economic system, the social and economic problems confronting our country and the world at large 

v Clips on the places of pilgrimage, tourist importance, wonder of the World

v Wise words of the great saints and leaders 

v Clips on flora and fauna of our world

v The great momentous events that changed  the course of human history

v National and international days of importance

v Programs on Personality development, Communication skills, health tips , HIV

     awareness, Environmental awareness

In short, anything and everything that has relevance and significance to life.

These programs should be intelligently planned while content and duration may be left to the imagination of the student community. They have necessary brilliance to decide what is to be done from Monday to Saturday in their onward and return journeys. The students should not feel as if this were imposed on them by somebody else. In a journey of 3 or 4 hours at least an hour input on the above items every day is a humble and a small initiative to be taken by the concerned for the overall upliftment of students.

This is not to make the students to miss their entertainment through FM/iPODs. The students will respond positively for one hour new input. The idea of collecting new inputs and structuring them properly for their success is again on the shoulders of student community. They can easily take up this as their hobby and develop necessary CD/DVDs from various resources like internet, newspapers, journals etc.  

If the students fail to encash this idea, it may be the turn of creative private Entrepreneurs to produce and market such CD/DVDs.