Bicycle gift a boon for pupils
EASTERN Cape Department of Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana handed over 200 bicycles to pupils from five schools in Cala and Lady Frere on Friday.
The handover formed part of the Shova Kalula national bicycle partnership project, launched in 2001 as a clean, healthy and sustainable alternative for short-distance travel.
The schools that benefited are Nonibe Senior Secondary School, Qoqodala Senior Secondary School, Ngubengcuka Senior Secondary School, Lavelilanga Senior Secondary School and Bathandwa Ndondo Senior Secondary School.
Ayabona Magushana, 19, from Lavelilanga Senior Secondary School, said he was overjoyed to receive a bicycle as he no longer had to walk for hours to get to school. “Teachers understand that we live far away and that we cannot attend classes if it rains, because we will get wet and maybe sick,” he said.
Magushana said school came to a halt when it rained as pupils could not attend classes, partly due to fear they might drown when crossing rivers.
Bathandwa Ndondo Senior Secondary School Grade 9 pupil, Sibulele Titus said: “I cannot wait to learn how to ride a bicycle; I am happy that we will get to school earlier and faster.”
The pupils apparently do not qualify for scholar transport as they live under 5km from schools. To be eligible for scholar transport pupils must live further than 5km from schools.
Speaking at Bathandwa Ndondo Senior Secondary School in Cala, Tikana said the project primarily targeted learners from poor households in both rural and urban areas who walked long distances to schools and did not qualify for the government’s scholar transport programme.
Tikana said the department was committed to ensuring that pupils from across the province had access to quality education and was tirelessly working towards achieving that goal.
“These bicycles must not be used to collect groceries,” she said.
Tikana said while the scholar transport programme benefited many pupils, corrupt individuals were earning large amounts of money without actually transporting many children.
“In Komani, there is one person who is transporting six pupils and earning R52 000. I urge all those who use scholar transport to report when their transport is transporting only a few people.” The department would root out corruption in the programme. —