Johannesburg- Parents on a farm at Willow Park near Zeerust in North West have called for a more proactive approach regarding pupil transport.
According to a mother of four pupils, Kerileng Moagi, children who attend Mesega Primary School and Ngotwane High School have been sitting at home since January 12 because there is no transport available.
“This has been a roller-coaster since 2021. Our children have not set foot at school this year because the North West community safety and transport management failed to provide them with transportation.
“We tried in vain to engage both principals of the schools and it seems they have also been sent from pillar to post.
“We call on the North West department of education and the community safety and transport management to ensure there is proper planning for learner transport provision this year. The lack of learner transport disproportionately affects learners, especially those from poor homes like us,” Moagi said.
Another parent, Mothusi Botlhole, who is the father of three children, shared the same sentiment. Botlhole said he has two children attending at Mesega Primary School and Ngotwane High School, respectively.
“Unfortunately, one of my children did not pass because he had no reliable transport last year. He could not attend school regularly because there was no provision of scholarly transport.
“Most of the learners are forced to walk about 14km to and from school. On top of that, they have to carry their school bags, which are heavy. They also have to risk their lives by passing through the N4 road, which is too busy,” Botlhole said.
He said other pupils were risking their lives by taking shortcuts through the bushes.
North West community safety and transport management spokesperson Boitshoko Moremi said: “Towards the end of 2021, the department received complaints from both schools regarding the appointed operator.
“After no improvement was registered, the appointed operator’s service was terminated.
“Now, the department has not found an operator willing to operate on that route. All of them complain about kilometres, which they say are shorter. Remember, kilometres determine the remuneration. The more kilometres they travel, the more they get paid.”
Moremi said the situation was compounded by a court judgment in December 2019 that only contracted operators should be appointed.
North West Department of Education spokesperson Elias Malindi said it was aware of scholar transport challenges at Willow Park, noting that it would provide pupils with a recovery programme.
Meanwhile, the portfolio committee on basic education chairperson, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, who was on an oversight visit to schools in the province to
assess their readiness for the 2022 academic year recently, called for coordination between departments to ensure the scholar transport issue is resolved.
“All learning materials have been delivered … except for textbooks, which were delivered at 80%. However, there are minor challenges regarding learners’ transport and we have advised the department to meet often with the North West community safety and transport management to resolve those challenges as the provision of scholar transport is their prerogative.”
By Obakeng Maje
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
