KARACHI, Nov 6: Thousands of school, college and university students as well as teachers and non-teaching staff of educational institutions failed to reach their respective institutions on Wednesday due to transport strike. Public transport did not operate throughout the day.

Attendance in the University of Karachi remained thin despite the a normal operation of point buses which pick and drop KU students and staff. A student, observing that quite a few students could be brought to the university because of a limited number of point buses at the disposal to the KU.

A university official, however, claimed that the attendance of students and staff was slightly thinner than usual. He pointed out that research activities remained normal but teaching was a bit affected.

An official at the NED University of Engineering and Technology said that examinations under annual system were held there as per the programme and there was no necessity for a change in schedule. He said that the NED point buses were run as usual.

The transport strike badly hampered academic activities at schools and colleges as students and staff living near their respective institutions were able to attend classes. However, their number, in most cases, was sufficient to hold normal classes. Officials looking after the public educational institutions confirmed the same adding that a small number of students and staff had managed to attend their institutions despite the transport problem.

Sources in different educational boards also observed that a considerable number of staff failed to turn up due to the strike but their absence had a little affect on the overall working. However, an official in charge of examinations at one of the boards said that working of his section remained normal.

There was a visibly thin attendance at the educational offices of the City government. Similar situation was witnessed at various medical colleges.

Those less affected were private schools having vans on their disposal to transport students and teaching staff. A number of # students were dropped at their schools by their parents who had their own vehicles or were able to afford rickshaw/taxi fares, said a source adding that private colleges and universities suffered about 20 to 30 per cent less attendance.