-Staff Writer / Tue, 20 Jan 2026
More than 5,400 eligible learners in the North West are said to be still walking long and dangerous distances to school or missing classes due to failures in the province’s scholar transport system.
This follows the release of a damning inquiry report by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
The Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management said it had noted with grave concern the findings and directives contained in the SAHRC’s Final Inquiry Report into scholar transport in the province, which confirms long-standing complaints raised by communities, parents, learners and lawmakers.
Committee Chairperson Freddy Sonakile said the report paints a troubling picture of systemic failures in the planning, funding, monitoring and execution of the scholar transport programme, failures which have placed thousands of learners at risk and undermined their right to basic education.
“Non-compliance with these directives will not be tolerated,” Sonakile said, adding that the committee would actively track the 30-, 60-, 90- and 180-day milestones outlined by the Commission and summon relevant departments where progress is slow, unclear or absent.
According to the report, at least 5,468 learners who qualify for scholar transport remain without the service. The inquiry also identified persistent problems including unroadworthy and overcrowded vehicles, unpaid service providers, inadequate vetting of drivers and the poor accommodation of learners with disabilities.
The Legislature said these failures go beyond administrative shortcomings and may amount to violations of section 29 of the Constitution, read with section 7(2), which places an immediate obligation on the state to fulfil the right to basic education.
The committee welcomed the SAHRC’s clear, time-bound and costed directives, particularly those compelling the Departments of Community Safety and Transport Management, Education and the Provincial Treasury to account within defined timeframes.
Sonakile said the emphasis on consequence management, policy reform, electronic monitoring and improved inter-departmental coordination was critical to restoring credibility to the scholar transport system.
The committee also committed to working closely with the SAHRC, civil society organisations, parents and affected communities to ensure the report results in tangible improvements rather than remaining a policy document.
“Scholar transport is not a privilege. It is a constitutional imperative and a matter of child safety,” the Legislature said, warning that the lives and futures of learners in the North West depend on decisive, coordinated and accountable action.
News Junction (Gold Standard)