Byline: Nonjabuliso Nhlambo

30 January 2022

Parents of the learners who are registered at Emdibini Primary School took on a peaceful match to the school on Wednesday, 18 January 2023 to shut the school gates after their children have been deprived of transport to school causing them to miss their lessons.

Ever since the opening of schools, the learners from Kinross have not been collected by the free buses contracted by the Mpumalanga Department of Education to transport learners from Kinross and surrounding farms to the school.

The parents allege that they have made an enquiry regarding the transport issue with the drivers of the buses and they were informed that the said buses can only transport 65 learners per bus, living behind more than 100 learners from Kinross and it is unfortunate that the buses are already partially full by the time they reach there.

After being frustrated by the fact that their children are deprived of education by the transport mishap, the parents took it upon themselves to demand for the shutdown of the school until the Department of Education resolves the transport issue for their children.

 “Our children are all over the streets not attending school because of transport meanwhile others are coming to school. We are here to ask the school peacefully to release all the learners from the school premises, school will resume once the transport issue is resolved”, said one of the aggrieved parents in front of the school’s staff at Emdibini Primary School.

The schools staff accepted the request of the parents to release all learners until the transport issue is resolved. It was then after the learners had their daily meals that they were told to vacate the school until further notice. All learners in the school were thereafter transported back home.