Learners from Msukaligwa farms enter second week of school without transport

Learners from Msukaligwa farms enter second week of school without transport

Learners from Nyibe, Keke and KwaMabuza farms in Msukaligwa have been without scholar transport since schools reopened last week.

While doing site visits to monitor schools last week, the DA found that learners from the above farms had to travel by foot to the Umzivela Agriculture Combined School which is 15km away because the department of Public Works had failed to arrange scholar transport for them.

The learners and their parents told that there is a shortage of buses to transport pupils to and from the school. Some learners have not attended classes since schools reopened.

Last week Thursday, MEC of Public Works, Roads and Transport, Dumisile Nhlengethwa was at the school where she reassured the principal, parents and learners that scholar transport will operate normally by Monday 19 February. It has been almost a week since the MEC’s reassurance; learners still stranded without transport to get to school.

Learners who have no access to public transport in rural and outlying areas to prioritised. The failure to provide transport to and from school is a violation of a learners’ right to granted access to education.

The broken promises of the MEC are a slap in the face of all parents and learners. We need to ensure that every child has access to basic education – so that they can pursue a life they value and develop to their full potential.

The DA will write to the MEC requesting that;

The department ensure that transport for learners living far away from schools is prioritised

·         Ensures that all learners are able to access education, despite a long distance to the nearest suitable public school, and/or the lack of and high cost of public transport.

·         Establishes procedures that are safe, reliable, cost-effective, sustainable and fully integrated with learner transport operations which will meet the educational needs of the learner, support social development and enhance economic growth.

On further investigation, we also found that this school has 960 school learners and only 200 chairs and 100 desks. The DA will follow this up with the departments involved.