Angry parents threaten to protest over lack of scholar transport
On Tuesday morning, March 21, angry parents and community members threatened to block the N4 with burning tyres to show their disapproval with a decision taken during a meeting held on Monday evening, to stop transporting their children to school in Matsulu.
STENTOR – According to a community member and a parent, Ms Cynthia Nkomo, when the Department of Education closed down a school in the village 18 months ago, it was decided to transfer the learners to schools in Matsulu and Malalane.
They were told that transport would be made available to the children to attend another school, however, regular transport has been a problem ever since.
“This has been going on for too long now. They are failing to provide us with transport for our children and the one who was doing so, is not able to collect the children from inside Stent or because he couldn’t cross the toll gate,” said Nkomo.
According to her, the transport service provider appointed by the Department of Education, claims he was not being paid to cross the toll gate to enter Stentor Nkosi Transports. The owner/driver told parents who went to enquire as to why learners were not being collected in the village, instead of being collected on the other side of the Nkomazi toll gate along the N4, to where they had to walk daily. We then decided as parents to open a toll-gate card of our own and ask that the children be collected from inside the village,” Nkomo added.
Parents of learners making use of the bus were all contributing R15 towards the card every month in order for the bus to cross the toll gate.
“At the end of the day some of the parents were no longer able to contribute this money, because many of them are unemployed and dependent on social grants of the children. They use that very same money to put their children in school,” Nkomo continued.
To get to school that morning some children decided to walk, despite it being 15 kilometres away.
When schools reopened last week, the children were left without transport for two days. According to the department of public works, the bus owner obtained the tender unlawfully.
“We demanded answers as to why we were told by the service provider that he had not been paid for three months for services rendered. Now the next thing they told us a new service provider from Badplaas has been appointed. We refused and demanded that the current owner/driver continues with his service to us because he had been helpful,” Nkomo said.
Later, the same morning a Nkosi Transport bus was sent to collect and take the children to school.
Spokesman for the Department of Education, Mr Jasper Zwane, said they are fully aware of the situation and are working towards a permanent solution to the matter.
