Vredenburg pupils back on school bus

MORE than 30 Vredenburg pupils on the West Coast returned to school after they were stranded due to there being no space available in a school bus.

The Louwville High pupils, who live about 40km away from their school, were affected when their parents received messages last Thursday informing them that from last Friday onwards they could no longer make use of the transport from Velddrif.

They had been commuting on the bus since January.

This had left many parents and community members up in arms, demanding an explanation and for the issue to be resolved urgently.

Other pupils joined a picket in solidarity with their affected peers.

Rural and Farmworker Development Organisation executive director Billy Claasen said they did not want an incident like this to happen again.

“After a meeting with the sector manager and Louwville principal on Monday, parents were informed in the afternoon via SMS that the route that was applied for had been approved.

“On Tuesday the pupils returned to school. We are hoping this was the last time we are having this kind of incident as we cannot play with the children’s education and lives. This whole year we don’t want any hiccups.

“At some schools this is still a problem, which is sad because it’s the children’s rights that are being played with.

“We also call on the department to inspect the drivers, as we have discovered that some don’t have permits,” Claasen said.

Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Jessica Shelver said the pupils had been boarding the bus since the beginning of the year without approval.

“The learners did not attend school only on Friday, but were at school (on Monday).

“An urgent submission for transport was made to the bus committee and this was approved.

“I can confirm therefore that the transport application for the 36 learners was approved for 2019,” Shelver said.