Dozens of pupils and their parents from Nompumelelo and Ducats townships staged a protest on the N6 near Merrifield yesterday over a lack of scholar transport.
The children attend Nkwezana Primary School near Chintsa, which is some 15km away.
Principal Thenjiwe Tyali said the school had been unable to operate for the second week in a row because half of the pupils had embarked on protest action.
The Dispatch reported yesterday about how the same group of pupils were unable to attend classes as they did not have any transport.
Attempts by education officials to enrol the pupils at three primary schools situated closer to them proved futile as all were full.
Mothers of the pupils who joined in the protest during rush-hour traffic said they had been trying for the past three years to get government to commit to providing free scholar transport for their children.
Children carried placards which read “Government please provide transport”, “I have a right to education”, and “We are the future” on them, among others.
Mahlubandile Qwase, deputy director-general in the office of the premier, who was driving by, stopped and spoke to the parents. He was then seen making a call on his cellphone.
A delegation from the department of education’s district office arrived and met with parents on the side of the road.
Tyali said the delegation had then visited local schools in Ducats yesterday trying to find if they had space to accommodate the more than 400 children affected.
The delegation was unsuccessful.
The Dispatch understands that a scholar transport provider has been contracted to transport 89 of the 240 children from Ducats.
A further 237 pupils in Nompumelelo have not been catered for.
Tyali said a list containing the names of all children needing transport was submitted to the provincial department of transport yesterday.
He said he hoped an agreement would be reached to provide transport for them. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Pupils protest over lack of transport
The children attend Nkwezana Primary School near Chintsa, which is some 15km away.
Principal Thenjiwe Tyali said the school had been unable to operate for the second week in a row because half of the pupils had embarked on protest action.
The Dispatch reported yesterday about how the same group of pupils were unable to attend classes as they did not have any transport.
Attempts by education officials to enrol the pupils at three primary schools situated closer to them proved futile as all were full.
Mothers of the pupils who joined in the protest during rush-hour traffic said they had been trying for the past three years to get government to commit to providing free scholar transport for their children.
Children carried placards which read “Government please provide transport”, “I have a right to education”, and “We are the future” on them, among others.
Mahlubandile Qwase, deputy director-general in the office of the premier, who was driving by, stopped and spoke to the parents. He was then seen making a call on his cellphone.
A delegation from the department of education’s district office arrived and met with parents on the side of the road.
Tyali said the delegation had then visited local schools in Ducats yesterday trying to find if they had space to accommodate the more than 400 children affected.
The delegation was unsuccessful.
The Dispatch understands that a scholar transport provider has been contracted to transport 89 of the 240 children from Ducats.
A further 237 pupils in Nompumelelo have not been catered for.
Tyali said a list containing the names of all children needing transport was submitted to the provincial department of transport yesterday.
He said he hoped an agreement would be reached to provide transport for them. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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