Kuyga kids need help to catch up

THE impoverished community of Kuyga on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth resembled a war zone last week.

Previous sporadic demonstrations by the community over a lack of scholar transport erupted into violent mass action on Wednesday with clashes between police and protesters, many of them parents.

The community’s anger stemmed from the government’s failure to provide school buses, leaving over 600 children unable to attend school for weeks at a time.

Earlier this year, the transport department cut the service due to budget constraints.

Scores of children were instead instructed to attend the nearby Kuyga Intermediate Primary, which is already full.

This instruction was a symptom of the poor and ineffective communication which demonstrated the government’s inadequate grasp of the dire situation on the ground.

Wednesday’s protest, therefore, was bound to finally catch the attention of authorities. By the end of that day, Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana promised that the transport service would return yesterday. It did not. Yesterday morning, hundreds of children went to the central bus stop, only to return home shortly thereafter as, again, no buses showed up.

Later in the day the department said it was still finalising the appointment of a service provider.

While it is understood that the provision of scholar transport must go through necessary and lawful processes, it is the handling of this entire saga that cannot be left unchallenged.

The matter has again highlighted the cost of ineffective management and poor oversight over inter-governmental functions.

Hundreds of children have missed out on a significant number of school days this year, thanks to completely avoidable circumstances.

They now need every support possible to help them catch up what is left of the schooling year.