Young children walk long distances to school

RESIDENTS of Phutanang, Transit Camp and 2000 have accused the Northern Cape Department of Education of failing to meet the needs of the community, as children as young as six years old walk long distances to attend the Kevin Nkoane and West End primary schools.

“We feel that a community as large as Phutanang and 2000 should have a primary school in the area. Our children’s rights to education are being infringed upon because we come from disadvantaged backgrounds and mainly-unemployed communities,” one of the residents said yesterday.

Another resident said more than 70 children were forced to walk long distances on busy and dangerous roads to school every day.

“They also have to pass through the veld, which is also very unsafe.”

A parent said the community had appealed to the governing bodies at the schools during several meetings to request assistance with the learners’ transport from the department.

“We have asked the department to organise a bus to fetch our children every morning and drop them off at the end of the school day but nothing has changed.”

One schoolteacher pointed out that often on cold and wet days some children cannot go to school at all.

“How these little ones are expected to concentrate after walking such long distances to school every morning is beyond me.”

The teacher added that some of the children did not even have school shoes.

David Koopman, who transports schoolchildren, pointed out that most parents could not afford the taxi fares because they were unemployed.

“I have been transporting children to these two primary schools for years and it breaks my heart to see six-year-olds walking in the rain. If I have space in my taxi, I stop and give them a lift.”

Spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Sydney Stander, said that the department had different levels within the system where parents were free to raise their concerns relating to the provision of education.

“We will look into all the issues that parents raise and find solutions to them. The issue of the provision of a school is informed by the identification of the need – whether there are sufficient numbers to warrant a school and the availability of financial resources.”

He added that there were transport facilities available for learners who had to travel between three kilometres and 20 kilometres to school.

“We will look into whether the children of these parents who are raising this issue qualify for transport.”