The non-profit organisation, Khula Development Project in the Eastern Cape says it has resorted to taking the provincial government to court over problems pertaining to the Scholar Transport Programme in the province.
Since schools reopened, learners have had to walk or find alternative transport to school because of the unavailability of school transport. The provincial transport department says this is due to a lack of funding.
Over 100 000 learners in the province rely on the programme.
Khula Development Project, which mainly focuses on children’s rights, believes many learners in the province are still struggling with scholar transport and consequently losing out on school time due to the challenges in the programme. It says the government is dragging its feet in addressing the matter.
Last week, Finance MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko, allocated R725-million for the Scholar Transport Programme when he tabled his Budget Speech. However, Khula Development is not convinced this will solve Scholar Transport challenges in the province.
“The only thing we have decided to do was to rather approach a court of law, so we have since approached a law firm to take the relevant law firm to court, we don’t have time to play because we are talking about kids who have never been to school. In the Amathole West, there are kids who have not been to school, they did not even write their examinations for term 1,” says Petros Majola, Director of the Khula Development Project.
However, the Provincial Government maintains that issues relating to the Scholar Transport Programme have been resolved.
“From where we are seated now that matter is closed. There was a discussion from the MEC for Transport and service providers last week just to tighten up the issues of procurement enquiries and also the issues of management of the scholar transport from a government point of view and a service provider’s point of view,” says Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade.
The matter will be heard in the High Court in Makhanda on the 2nd of May.
