eMBALENHLE – Learners and parents are not happy with the Department of Education because their children were left without transport on the first day of school due to an alleged non-renewal of scholar transport contracts.
Farm schools learners, including of Roodebank Combined School, had to walk about 30 kilometres to and from school on Wednesday, 9 January, only to hear they will be given stationery and be sent back home.
They were not given any reason why teaching and learning did not commence on the day.
Most learners from Muzimuhle Combined School were hitchhiking from eMbalenhle to the school.
When speaking to the learners of Roodebank Combined School who were walking back home from school, they expressed their dissatisfaction about the Department of Education and the state of the school.
They said the road is dangerous and that when they arrived at school, they were tired and could not concentrate.
“This is tough, but we do not have a choice, we have to walk to school and back home whenever we do not have transport.
“Even the state of the school is not good at all. The pit toilets are dangerous and we are at risk of falling into the toilets.
“It seems like the Department of Education has forgotten us.
“We are calling on the department to attend to us,” said one of the learners.
Parents also raised their concerns regarding the safety of the learners and called on the department to speed up the renewal process of the transport contracts.
Mr Fanyana Sibanyoni, a service provider for scholar transport, said they could not take learners to school because the Department of Education did not renew the contracts.
“When we inquired, they eventually responded with a letter that was not signed.
“We can not accept this, because without a signature it is not official.”
