North West parents have raised concerns about government’s failure to provide their children with reliable scholar transport and access to education.
This comes after the learners from Molelwane Primary and Rekopantswe High in Fafung village outside Moretele were recently not picked up by their scholar transport.
Cynthia Moletsane-Maphalala is a resident in Klipvoor village, 20km from where her daughter attends school.
She expressed her grief after the scholar transport that was supposed to pick her daughter up on Wednesday failed to arrive.
She said the disappointment on her daughter’s face when she realised she wouldn’t be going to school was unbearable. It reflected the bigger problem that many parents were facing.
Pupils miss weeks of schooling due to transport
Since the beginning of the year, the children in this village have struggled to get to school. And this was primarily due to harsh rains that ruined the only bridge in their area.
In other circumstances, parents and schools have had to arrange alternative transportation.
However, after promises from the relevant provincial governments that the issue would be resolved, the situation remained unchanged, leaving children at home.
Moletsane-Maphalala said she and other parents have been trying to ensure that their children receive an education.
During the last weeks of the first school term, parents camped at the school with their children. This was after their children were forced to stay at home for three weeks as the scholar transport could not get to the village. And the problem was due to heavy rains that left roads damaged.
Parents blame education department
She said despite their efforts, they [parents] feel that the Department of Education was not fulfilling its responsibility.
Another concerned parent, Annah Mothenjane, who has a Grade 3 pupil at that school, expressed her frustration.
She said after their children missed more than three weeks of school, parents took extreme measures. They started camping with the children at the school, assisting them with their homework. The parents also made sure they were prepared for the next day’s lessons.
“We saw it fit to camp with our children at school. At that time they had missed over three weeks of teaching and learning,” she said.
She said during school hours the children attended the classes. After school, they cleared up the desks and started preparing the mattresses for them to sleep on.
Desperate parents camped at the school with pupils
“We could not allow to let the situation destroy our children’s education. And we even helped them with homework after school. We cooked for them and made sure that the following day they were ready to go attend classes,” Mothenjane said.
The parents are now calling on the government to step in and address the issue. They are hoping that history won’t repeat itself. Last month, the SA Human Rights Commission held an inquiry on scholar transport in Mahikeng. This was after it received a lot of complaints from concerned parents.
North West Department of Education spokesperson Mphata Molokwane denied that children could not go to school.
“The issues experienced on the first day of reopening were attributed to a change in bus contracts. This involved the introduction of a new contractor. The new bus contractor arrived late yesterday at Fafung.
Department blames transport contracts issues
“All learners attended classes on the reopening day, and the department ensured that no child was left behind. In the event of any disruptions, provisions would be made. Additional time will be allocated for learners to compensate for any academic time lost,” he said.
North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management spokesperson Alphy Koonyaditse was contacted. He has since promised to respond, but had not done so at the time of publishing.
