– DA seeks explanations, assurances that learner transport crisis won’t recur.
– Learners left stranded as operators suspend services amidst mid-year assessments.
– Clarity needed on financial ramifications of the last minute negotiations.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape requested that the provincial education department must explain the latest learner transport crisis to the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature.
As schools started with formal assessments this week, some service providers decided to suspend learner transport operations as a way of escalating disputes with the Northern Cape Department of Education. The South African National Small Bus Operators Council cites operational costs, rising fuel prices, and inconsistencies in tariffs applied by the province as the major reason for its decisions.
We note that negotiations resulted in the suspension of strike action and expect that transport services should resume today. We need clarity on the financial ramifications of these negotiations.
Unfortunately, the rural nature of the province and the lack of real competition in the market makes the Northern Cape particularly vulnerable to price manipulation, market control, and such antics.
School governing bodies were left scrambling to make alternative arrangements, such as those in Springbok who provide their own transport. Where no alternatives can be found, learners were either forced to walk more than 10 kilometers or miss their assessments. Some schools cancelled assessments.
Both the department and operators are to blame for allowing the situation to reach this point. We cannot expect learners to solve the problems created by grown-ups who don’t have their best interests at heart. Alternative solutions that empower schools’ management teams in averting and managing such crisis, must also be considered.