Scholar transport plot thickens

The Roodepoort Record has been inundated with complaints from various communities about the conduct of scholar transport operators at schools throughout the greater Roodepoort region.

After last week’s frontpage article highlighting the problems at Laerskool Culembeeck Primary School in Witpoortjie, the Record managed to sit down with school principal Advocate Melta Manganye, who assures the community that she is as fed-up with the situation as they are.

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“These problems are not new to us,” she says. “I found them here when I first started in 2022, and despite our best efforts, they persist.”

Manganye says the school has gone above and beyond the call of duty to try and address the various problems, but with little success.

“We have tried to accommodate our neighbours at every turn. We’ve attended meetings with the community, the relevant taxi associations, and the JMPD. We’ve put in place rules regarding the collection and dropping off of learners, and we enforce these to the best of our ability, but there is only so much one can do.”

Manganye says that despite all their efforts, the scholar transport operators simply refuse to adhere to the agreements put in place.

“We are not a rich school,” she says. “We have been forced to reduce our security personnel, which makes it even more difficult.

“Our teachers are on duty until 14:30 daily. Transport operators and parents have been repeatedly asked to ensure that the children are gone from the school premises by then, but this is simply being flouted.

“I cannot force teachers to stay here after 14:30. The gates get locked, and teachers go home since they have other work to do, like marking. This effectively means children are left to their own devices after 14:30, and we have no control over them.

“The transport operators, on the other hand, simply refuse to park on the available open space outside the school. They argue that, since it is not tarred, their vehicles get dirty, thus they park in the street, in front of people’s houses, which causes obvious aggravation.”

Magnanye adds that they have had multiple engagements with JMPD to help them control the situation, but admits that law enforcement is lacking.

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“We need better visibility of law enforcement, especially in the early mornings and afternoons. The transport operators don’t comply with the law because they know there is no repercussion for them in the absence of JMPD to enforce the law.

“They ignore our pleas to them because they can. They seem adamant to do just what they want, whether we like it or not.”