Cape Town - A group of Moorreesburg children have not started the academic year and their parents say it’s because the Western Cape Education Department failed to arrange transport for them.
Local councillor Desmond Philander said about 95 pupils from Moorreesburg have been enrolled at Steynville Secondary School in Piketberg but the department only arranged a 32-seater bus.
“In solidarity with the others the children who had a place on the bus have also decided to stay at home.”
He said that according to the department it had “financial problems”.
Philander said the department wanted the children to stay in the hostel at Steynville but parents had indicated this would be too costly.
“There is no public transport between Moorreesburg and Piketberg and parents would have to pay R600 a weekend for transport home and back to school.”
He said Dirkie Uys High in Moorreesburg was full.
Gawa Kiewiets said her foster child, Samantha Kiewiets, a Grade 10 pupil, had hitchhiked to school last week but she didn’t go to school on Monday as it was unsafe for her to continue doing so.
“I am bitterly disappointed that there is no bus for these children.”
Jessica Shelver, spokeswoman for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, said that when Steynville Secondary applied for the pupil transport scheme last month, the education district became aware there was ample space available in the hostel.
“So the school was informed that the hostel must first be filled before the Western Cape Education Department can consider bus transport.”
She believed there was a political agenda behind the fact that, on Friday, parents “had been happy for their children to attend the hostel” and were now not keen.
But Kiewiets said this was not true.
Shelver said the department was “fast tracking” an application for pupil transport for those who didn’t want to stay in the hostel.
Meanwhile, the department has been dealing with “high numbers” of late enrolments and new arrivals in all metro regions.
Cape Argus