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The department has arranged psychosocial support for the pupils and their families.
Picture: iStock
About 20 pupils from three Johannesburg high schools were injured in a scholar transport accident on Monday morning, near the West Park Cemetery.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has confirmed the incident and says investigations into the cause are underway.
The accident occurred just after 7am along West Park Road, when the vehicle transporting the pupils allegedly overturned after the driver lost control along a bend in the road.
“According to preliminary reports, the vehicle was allegedly travelling at a high speed when the driver appeared to lose control,” said the department.
Pupils from three schools affected
The affected pupils were from Greenside High School, Parktown Girls’ High School, and Roosevelt High School. 13 of them were from Greenside High School (Grades 8 to 11), four from Roosevelt High (Grades 8, 9 and 12), and three from Parktown Girls’ High (Grades 8, 10 and 11).
Emergency personnel responded swiftly and transported the injured pupils to various medical facilities for assessment and treatment.
“Fortunately, all learners were treated and discharged into the care of their families,” the GDE said.
However, one pupil from Greenside High School remains in hospital and is scheduled to undergo surgery.
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Psychosocial support provided
Medical practitioners have booked most of the affected pupils out of school for the remainder of the week. Meanwhile, the department has arranged psychosocial support for the pupils and their families.
“Our officials were dispatched yesterday [on Monday] to each school and hospital to verify the condition of all affected learners and also interact with all affected families,” said the department.
Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane expressed relief that no lives were lost and commended the rapid response by school teams and emergency services.
“We are grateful that there were no fatalities, and we extend our gratitude to emergency personnel, respective school management teams and our officials who responded swiftly,” said Chiloane.
“We urge all scholar transport drivers, whether public or private, to ensure that the safety and well-being of our learners remains a top priority.”
An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.
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