Bus driver ‘sjamboks pupils’
Simmering dispute over lateness boils over into violence, say students
PUPILS at a Kraaifontein school say they were sjambokked and had a bottle thrown at them by bus drivers after they insisted on being taken to school on time.
This followed several days of being picked up late.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is investigating yesterday’s incident involving pupils from Masibambane High.
The bus arrived at the school late again today, at 8.17am.
The service provider transports pupils from Fisantekraal to five Kraaifontein schools, but Masibambane pupils say they are dropped off late several days a week.
Pupils said they were at the bus stop from 6.30am. Matric pupil Mzinyati Snawo said they had to attend an extra class before school.
The pupils said the driver insisted only on picking up students from Scottsdene and Scottsville high schools.
They claimed he told them that he “doesn’t take” Masibambane pupils.
When he returned, they said, he started hitting them with a sjambok. “I was hit on the leg,” said matric pupil Nokubonga Gxilishe.
Pupils said there was screaming and they left the bus but their problems didn’t stop there.
When a second bus arrived it left only with pupils from Hector Pieterson and Bloekombos high schools while a bottle was thrown at them when they tried to ride along.
Snawo said that when one of the buses returned to pick them up it was already after 8am.
“We decided not to get in the bus because we are fed up with the situation.” Instead they took taxis to school.
He said that on Friday they had arrived at school during the third period because the bus was late again.
“I hope the government can change the bus for us. I am in matric and all this is happening at the beginning of the year. Who knows what will happen later in the year?”
The pupils questioned why students from other schools were always picked up first.
Principal Rajan Naidoo said he had previously complained to the WCED about the service provider and had also reported yesterday’s incident.
Service provider Rudewaan Abrahams said the school had indicated last week that eight or nine pupils had to be at school early yesterday. He said the arrangement was that these children, but not the whole group, would be allowed on the earliest bus.
However, there had been a “misunderstanding” with the driver.
He said the driver denied hitting the children and said some of the children were drunk.
Abrahams said drivers were not allowed to hit children and that he would go to the school with the driver today. At 9am, Naidoo said he was still waiting for Abrahams.
Abrahams said the bus had been late in the past but this was because the pupils were not at the bus stop when it arrived. Pupils from the other schools were picked up first because they were at the bus stop first.
Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant, said a complaint about the buses was made to district staff at the end of last year and yesterday’s incident was being investigated.
“We are extremely shocked to have learnt that the driver allegedly acted out in this manner against the learners. We are taking these allegations very seriously and will be in contact with the service provider in terms of our investigation.”
Casey said the department was investigating the claim that pupils from other schools were always picked up first.
Eradicating persistent latecoming is one of Grant’s priorities. Last year, he said all schools should adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards latecomers and introduce progressive discipline.
Meanwhile in Gauteng, parent organisations and teacher unions said late-coming and underperformance at township schools would not end unless education authorities clamped down on errant teachers.
This comes after Gauteng Education MEC Barbara Creecy found yesterday that more than 700 pupils and several teachers at Lavela Secondary School in Soweto had arrived late.
During an unannounced visit to the school, Creecy found that pupils were still streaming in more than 30 minutes after the first bell at 7.45am.
Creecy initially said pupils arriving late “would be taken to the Jabulani police station”, where their parents would be called to account, but later she said the pupils would be kept at school and their parents contacted.