Please find pictures attached here, here and here.
Today, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Nomsa Marchesi MP, accompanied by DA Member of the Basic Education Portfolio Committee, Sonja Boshoff MP, Provincial Spokesperson on Education, Jane Sithole MPL, and Provincial Spokesperson on Public Works, Roads and Transport, Bosman Grobler MPL, walked with learners to Lugebhuta High School in Schoemansdal, in Mpumalanga’s Nkomazi Local Municipality, to highlight their daily struggle of getting to school.
The lack of effective scholar transport in this country is an indictment of the ANC government. The fact that in 24 years of democracy, there are learners who are walking long distances just to get an education, is an injustice.
Learners walking these distances are unable to concentrate in class as they are often left exhausted.
The learners that the DA visited today, have to wake up as early as 05:00 and walk 7.8km to get to school on an empty stomach.
The route they take crosses a dangerous stream, which is life-threatening when it rains. The alternative route is 9km long and includes an extremely busy provincial road. Learners from Legebhuta High School often fall prey to criminals and their lives are endangered daily. Simply put, these learners’ ability to access an education is being inhibited.
The standard of safety across schools in South Africa is grossly unequal and conditions at many schools, especially those in rural areas, are appalling. The National Government seems to have no plan to turn the situation around. The DA has repeatedly called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to prioritise safety at schools, yet no action has been taken.
Children need to be in safe environments at all times and denying them scholar transport equates to denying them safety. We therefore urge the National Treasury to stop cutting provincial budgets as this compromises our children’s access to education and safety. We also call on provincial governments to ensure they are allocating enough money to education. This includes scholar transport as our responsibility to keep our children safe is not limited to the classroom.
A DA-led government would not allow provincial governments to endanger children by failing to provide scholar transport to children who walk long distances to school. The ANC must prove that it takes children’s safety seriously by ensuring all children that need scholar transport have access to it.