By Johnathan Paoli
The Eastern Cape Transport Department has assured the public of significant progress in providing scholar transport to qualifying learners, following a court order last month declaring the failure to meet this obligation unconstitutional.
Speaking to Inside Education, spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the department had already been working towards this goal before the court ruling, which has reinforced their commitment to ensuring equitable access to education.
“We have made inroads to provide scholar transport to all the learners who are qualifying for it. That has been our plan. And the court order came at a time when we were quietly working towards achieving that goal,” Binqose said.
However, the start of the school year has presented typical challenges, such as unsettled school registers and student transfers, which have temporarily disrupted services.
“The few inquiries we’ve received are due to minor operational issues, such as finding replacement operators after a vehicle has been damaged or an operator has passed away. These matters are being addressed,” he said.
On the issue of safety inspections for transport vehicles, Binqose clarified that there was no major crisis.
Some operators had temporarily moved their vehicles to other provinces for taxi rank operations during school holidays. but have since complied with inspection requirements.
While the department reported progress, Binqose acknowledged isolated challenges, such as a case at Rocklands Primary School where a pick-up route was not clearly defined. The department was working with the provincial education department to resolve such cases swiftly.
He emphasised that scholar transport was designed strictly for qualifying learners who have no accessible schools near their homes.
“It’s not for every learner who opts for a school further away for reasons such as perceived better quality of education,” he clarified.
The department remains optimistic about reaching all qualifying learners and is addressing outstanding issues as the school registers stabilise.
“A majority of those who require scholar transport already have it, and we aim to ensure no qualifying learner is left behind,” Binqose said.
This follows a ruling by the Makhanda High Court that found both the transport and education department’s failure unconstitutional and invalid to , ordering the departments to finalise all new transport applications by the end of January, providing transport within 10 days of approval, and addressing appeals swiftly. He judgment is believed to affect nearly 40,000 learners, many of whom live in rural areas and have to travel long distances to get to school.
Judge Nicola Molony granted a structural interdict requiring the departments to report back to court by 7 February, and then every 30 days thereafter for seven months.
The ruling also addressed the government’s claim of budgetary constraints, rejecting it as unsupported and ordered that affected learners receive additional academic support to catch up on missed work.
Petros Majola of Khula Development Project previously expressed frustration over the need to litigate annually to secure children’s rights, saying that it was expected for the government to implement the order and ensure learners did not face the same situation in the new year.
The Legal Resource Centre’s Cameron McConnachie acknowledged the challenges in addressing the problems, but said the judgment was a significant step on the road to ensuring that all learners could enjoy their constitutional right to basic education in the province.
INSIDE EDUCATION
