Parents from Qamata locality in Cofimvaba demand that the Eastern Cape Department of Transport and the Department of Education in the province explain the reason for terminating scholar transport for learners attending Nombewu Technical High School in Cofimvaba, as from last month.
One of the parents, Sicelo Nikani, said that this action had led them to ensure they block scholar transport taking learners to this school.
“There are many routes that go to this school. It has been more than 17 years now that our children were always transported by the Department of Transport, but now the route has been cut off. It was cancelled totally, not that the numbers have been minimised. We heard rumours that our route might be cut off last year, so we tried to ask about this from the authorities, but we did not find the real answer,” said Nikani.
He added that by doing so they wanted to know what will happen this year when the schools were opened.
Nikani said that they also wanted to know the reasons why the route was going to be closed.
“After that we then started negotiations with the officials from the Department of Education, and even then the department knew nothing about this. We then had other negotiations with an official from the Department of Transport who also knew nothing. They then asked to be given 15 days to go and look for answers, but they never came back until now.”
He said that they saw their children coming back home stating that there was no scholar transport, and this led them to stand up and take action after they did not find answers from the school management, last week. They decided to block the intersection that goes to this school in order to prevent other scholar transport from reaching the school.
He confirmed that learners who are able to go to school are those who are living in the area where the school is built.
“Our idea was that all learners who are coming to this school must stay at home like our children, so that all of them must not be taught until our problem is solved by these departments.”
According to him, they were advised by the Department of Education that they should take their children who are doing Grade 8 and 9 to their neighbouring schools in their localities.
Nikani said that it was also suggested that those who are doing other grades must stay in the cottages in the homesteads which are next to Nombewu.
He added that they will not do that because they had already bought uniforms for their children, and they had also paid school fees at this school.
Another parent, Bongiwe Mbebhe, said that they were not happy about this. She said her son, who is 13, cannot live in a cottage.
Mbebhe asked,
Spokesperson for Department of Transport, Unathi Binqose, asked Mthatha Express to speak with the Department of Education, stating that this matter falls under this department.
Spokesperson for the Department of Education, Malibongwe Mtima, said that his department is a beneficiary and that they are not the ones who decided about the routes. He said that the route was closed by the Department of Transport.
“When we are advising parents to take their children to neighbouring schools, we are trying to meet them half way, so that their children must not sit at home. The issue of school fees that were already paid can be discussed between the previous schools and the schools where these children will be admitted,” said Mtima.
He added that when the management from Nombewu releases these children they must release them with the books and all the things that belong to them.
