More than 80 learners in farming communities around Enon and Bersheba, Eastern Cape, have no choice but to hitchhike to school every day.
We met dozens of learners at an informal stop on the dusty road to Moses Mabida Secondary School, 15km away. After an hour, around 8:20am a white bakkie stopped. There was only place for five. The rest would have to wait for the next car.
Grade 10 learner Aqhama Mila said since the start of this school year, they have had to hitchhike because there is no scholar transport. She said some learners had dropped out of school as a result.
“I wake up at 5am to be at the hiking spot by 6am. I always miss the first period at school. At times, school gates are closed at 7:45am and I have to hitchhike back home,” she said.
Mila also said she is bullied. “They laugh at me, saying we come from a dusty area with dirty shoes and dirty uniforms.”
Parents we spoke to said they can’t afford to pay R650 to hire a private vehicle for school transport. Mzuvukile Mooi, a father of two, said their family survives on his peacemeal jobs and child support grants. “The children always cry. They often hike and it is dangerous,” he said.
Ward 8 Councillor Nelisa Ncambele (ANC), who was at the hiking spot, said scholar transport has been a major challenge in farming areas.
“When it rains, I sometimes take learners from hiking spots to school, although I get worried because I can only ferry five learners at a time.” she said.
Ncambele said most parents are citrus seasonal workers and rely on social grants.
SGB chairperson at Mhlophekazi Primary School in Bersheba, Vuyiswa Fiyani, said in April last year, the Department of Transport provided one bus for all learners from Enon and Bersheba farming areas, but after a fight among learners that damaged the bus, the driver refused to transport all the learners.
Fiyani said many learners have dropped out of school.
Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said over 40,000 learners are eligible for scholar transport, but the department cannot meet the demand.
He said the department was aware of challenges in the Sundays River Valley Municipality.
He said the service provider had resigned after his vehicle was damaged and the department was struggling to find a suitable replacement.
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