JB students walk home as school bus stuck for 7 hours due to heavy rain

The heavy rains and extensive flooding in Johor Bahru caused massive traffic jams that reportedly led to seven-hour journeys for school buses ferrying students home.

Parents of students at Foon Yew High School in Johor Bahru took to the school's Facebook page to air their grievances, with many saying that their children only got home past 10pm even though classes had ended at 3:40pm.

Some students resorted to walking home with their parents due to the traffic jam.

Stuck in traffic

A picture making the rounds on Facebook showed an orange school bus stuck in traffic at night.

An accompanying caption indicated that the bus had left the school at 3pm but was still stuck in JB traffic at night.

A parent told Malaysian newspaper Oriental Daily that he personally drove down to the school to pick his daughter up.

However, the journey back to their home in Taman Mount Austin took six hours, and they only reached home at around 10pm.

On Mar. 20, the school issued a notice in Mandarin on its Facebook page informing parents that it had received feedback from bus drivers that heavy rain had caused severe flooding and traffic congestion in JB.

It announced that extra-curricular and sports activities were suspended as the school bus was unable to return at 6pm to pick up students who stayed back for after-school activities.

Midnight but still not home

Parents subsequently took to the school's Facebook page to complain that their children had to endure long hours on the school bus; many also missed their dinner.

Some said that their children were still not home past 9pm, and bemoaned that they would not have enough rest before school the next day.

"My daughter has sat in the bus for seven hours, from 3:40pm when classes ended till she got home at 11pm. She hasn't even eaten dinner yet," one parent wrote in Mandarin.

Another parent said that her child was still not home at midnight due to the jam.

A user replied to the school's post with a picture of the traffic jam supposedly taken from inside one of the school buses.

"Haven't reached home after seven hours. Do I still have to get up for school tomorrow?" the user wrote.

A parent said she and some other parents who live near the school resorted to walking home with their children at around 10pm.

Some parents requested the school to cancel classes the next day or arrange for virtual lessons given the weather and traffic situation.

School's response

In response, the school said in a statement that on Mar. 21, after-school activities would still be suspended but classes would continue.

It explained that online classes need to be planned for and announced in advance so teachers can prepare the corresponding materials and parents can make the necessary arrangements.

"School-wide online classes require much consideration and cannot be decided and implemented overnight," said the school.

Top image from Chin Yi Ong/Facebook