-Staff Reporter / Mon, 19 Jan 2026
Thousands of learners in the North West Province have been denied safe and reliable access to education due to systemic failures in the provincial scholar transport programme, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has found.
“Our investigation confirms widespread rights violations that have left learners walking long and dangerous distances to school, travelling in unsafe vehicles, or dropping out altogether,” said SAHRC spokesperson Shirley Mlombo following the release of the Commission’s final report on Monday, 19 January 2026.
The report, released as schools reopened for the 2026 academic year, follows an extensive inquiry involving government departments, parents, learners, civil society organisations, transport operators and oversight bodies. The Commission concluded that allegations of systemic failures in the scholar transport system in the North West Province are substantiated.
Among the key findings, the SAHRC revealed that thousands of qualifying learners are excluded from scholar transport, while others are subjected to overcrowded, unroadworthy and unsafe vehicles. Learners often endure multiple trips, long travel times and frequent breakdowns, resulting in fatigue, late arrivals and disrupted learning.
The Commission further found that learners are frequently transported without supervision, exposing them to bullying and serious safety risks. Learners with disabilities are not reasonably accommodated, leading to exclusion or unsafe transport conditions, which the Commission said amounts to unfair discrimination.
“These failures violate learners’ constitutional rights to basic education, dignity, equality and safety, particularly disadvantaging poor learners and learners with disabilities,” Mlombo said.
The inquiry also uncovered serious governance and financial shortcomings, including weak oversight, poor planning, corruption and payments exceeding R1 billion to service providers for services that were not rendered. Despite reported remedial steps, the Commission found that key challenges such as vehicle overloading and failure to accommodate learners with disabilities persist.
The SAHRC held the North West Department of Education and the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management (COSATMA) directly responsible for the violations, while the North West Provincial Treasury was found to be complicit by failing to take stronger action to prevent the misuse of public funds.
In response, the Commission issued a series of binding directives. Within 60 days, COSATMA and the Department of Education must submit a detailed progress report outlining learners now accommodated, vehicles and drivers vetted, contractual breaches by service providers, consequence management steps, unpaid invoices and measures to support learners with disabilities.
Within 90 days, the departments must establish a functional complaints call centre with whistleblower protection, clear marking of scholar transport vehicles, eliminate payment backlogs and ensure all qualifying learners are accommodated. A comprehensive review of provincial learner transport policies must be completed within 180 days to close policy gaps and strengthen safety, accountability and inclusivity.
The Commission also called on the National Departments of Transport and Basic Education to address identified policy gaps during the ongoing review of the National Learner Transport Policy.
“The Commission will closely monitor compliance and will not hesitate to take further action should responsible authorities fail to protect learners’ rights,” Mlombo said.
News Junction (Gold Standard)
Succinctly captured.