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Sunday, January 5, 2025

Victory for Eastern Cape learners as court rules on transport crisis

By Alicia Mmashakana

Following a court ruling earlier this week, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the Eastern Cape transport department to ensure that all qualifying learners are ferried to school.

The Makhanda High Court ruled on Tuesday that department’s failure to provide scholar transport to learners in the province was “unconstitutional” and “invalid”.

The judgment handed down by Judge Nicola Molony affects around 40,000 learners requiring transport. Many of them live in rural areas and have to travel long distances to get to school.

DA provincial education spokesperson Horatio Hendricks has welcomed the judgment, saying it was time for the department to ensure that children were no longer denied their basic right to education.

“There are no more excuses. The department must comply with the court order and ensure that every deserving learner has access to scholar transport at the beginning of the new academic year,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

Hendricks explained that to comply with the court’s verdict, the transport department in conjunction with the education department must finalise applications for transport by the end of next month.

It would also have to ensure that the outcome of every application for scholar transport was communicated within 10 days of the decision being taken, and where applications have been denied, reasons and details of the appeals process must be given.

Appeals must be finalised within 10 days of them being filed.

Hendricks said that where transport was not provided to qualifying learners and resulted in a qualifying learner missing school for more than a week during the 2024 academic week, sessions must be arranged over school holidays to catch up on missed work.

Over the next seven months, a comprehensive, updated report must be filed monthly with the court detailing the status of all learners in the province who have applied for scholar transport.

And, the department must provide the court with all steps taken to ensure that all qualifying learners are transported from the first day of the 2025 academic year.

The DA has also called for an end to school rationalisation, which has resulted in the closure of many small, primarily farm schools, until it can be guaranteed that every affected learner who requires scholar transport to attend schools further away has their transport fully funded.

“We commend the Legal Resources Centre and Khula Development Project for their efforts to bring this matter to light. While this ruling provides a glimmer of hope, it also exposes the systemic rot within the programme,” Hendricks said.

The DA has repeatedly called for reforms, including stricter oversight, independent audits and the return of scholar transport to the Department of Education for improved accountability.

“Scholar transport is not a luxury. It is a lifeline for thousands of children seeking education. We will continue to fight for their safety, their rights, and their future” he said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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