Kimberley - Parents of children attending Saamstaan Intermediate School, which serves Prieska, Hopetown and Strydenburg, have lashed out at the apparent unsafe transportation of pupils to the school.
The parents said on Wednesday they were forced to stand by helplessly and watch on a daily basis as their children were crammed into a bus which only seats about 16 people.
“There are about 29 or 30 children who are transported to school in the bus," said one frustrated parent. "I have to watch my two children squash up to make space for their fellow pupils each day as there is not enough space for everyone on the bus. This problem has been persisting for about four years now. We are concerned as parents, but our problem is being ignored.”
Parents said that pupils from farms close to the three towns were transported to school by bus. One parent said that her child had to miss school as the bus also suffered mechanical problems.
“There are times when the bus does not come to fetch the children and we are informed that it has broken down. In one instance, the children missed about three days of school because the bus was broken and had to be fixed.”
Another parent said they were worried about the safety of their children.
“The vehicle is overcrowded but we are forced to send our children by bus because we have no alternative transport. As a parent, I continuously pray for the safe arrival of my child. There are pupils from various grades on the bus and as parents we constantly worry about the safety of our children,” she said.
Waiting
The parents pointed out that they had raised their concerns with the school principal, who assured them that the matter was being looked at.
“We told the principal and the school governing body (SGB) about our problem. They assured us that this matter had been forwarded to the provincial Department of Transport. We are still, however, waiting for a response. In the meantime our children are at risk because we want to provide an education for them.”
Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison spokeswoman, Keitumetse Moticoe, said they were aware of the concerns but did not have the necessary funding to address the problem.
“The department is aware of the situation and, due to budget constraints, we are not yet in a position to meet the demand for additional pupil transport needs. We are, however, looking at how we can resolve the situation,” said Moticoe.
“There is a contracted service provider on the route transporting pupils. Unfortunately, the number of pupils increased, putting pressure on the transport. The department is continuously in engagement with provincial Treasury in seeking more funding allocation to cater for the needs of extra pupils in need of transportation to schools across the Province.
“We monitor our pupil transport and through our support and partnership with the schools and communities, we have an open door policy where communities and schools can always raise any concerns that need to be brought to our attention as a department,” added Moticoe.