Parents must do homework

The issue of safe transport for pupils is once again churning in my mind.

Do parents ever take the time to thoroughly investigate the drivers, transport and routes that they use for their children?

Are parents even aware that their children are crammed into Nissan 1400’s like sardines?

If they do, what are they doing about it?

Surely, parents cannot be so desperate that they are willing to toy with the lives of their children? Also, when an accident occurs, can these parents feign shock and horror and blame the driver?

We may hear of children having to travel from Soweto all the way to Sandton.

We also hear of parents up in arms that headmasters who refused their children entry into schools because they are not from the feeder area.

But we never hear of parents making the effort, a year in advance, to find their children safe and reliable transport.

When the media is filled with stories of accidents of scholar transport because a driver packed 25 children into a nine-seater vehicle, the very same parents want to question the traffic cops for not policing these drivers.

Then, parents want to blame the government for not doing enough to protect their children. For the record, the government is not, was never, will never be a substitute for good parenting.

Parents need to do their homework. We cannot keep mourning when parents did not do their due diligence.

We cannot be angry when drivers get to their homes late in the evening because when they had to drop off children, there was no-one there and the driver had to wait with a child. They are never celebrated accordingly.

The long and short of it all is that when parents start applying for schools in May, they need to start looking for school transport as well. Sometimes, the cheapest is not always the safest.

Parents need to question if they are okay with trusting a 19 year old in a moving disco.

They must vet the drivers, get references and inspect the vehicles. Parents must do their homework because this is for their children’s safety.

Sometimes, metro buses may not be the most convenient for children as they may have to connect transport and there may be bus strikes at times.

It may take a village to raise a child, but it is not an excuse for selective parenting.