“It is painful that the children are unable to go to school, and instead of going to work, I am now accompanying my child to school. I had to call my boss at night yesterday [Wednesday] to tell her that I will not be coming to work because of this situation,” Sihlangu said.
She said it had taken them an hour to get to school. The school serves children living on nearby farms and surrounding rural settlements such as Piet Tlou.
Another parent, Sarah Ntshoane, said: “I left my place at 6.30am and got here at 7.30am. I went to meet other kids halfway to ensure that they get to school safe."
Mkhulu Combined School's SGB chairperson Skhumbuzo Mabaso said some students walked up to 7km to reach the school.
“With the parents that are here we will head to the department of public works to demand that they pay service providers because kids cannot afford such long distance to get to school. Some stay as far 15km away and I don’t think they will come,” he said.
Provincial Small Bus Operators Association secretary Sipho Mndebele said the meeting was concluded between them and the government on Thursday afternoon.
“It was a positive meeting, they acknowledged our concerns, and they told us that they had run out of budget.
“We embarked on this [strike] because initially they had promised to pay end of April and it was going to be impossible for us to manage to operate for that long, but with the new commitment, we will be able to operate till next week. We have spoken to our members and they all understand we have reached a point to say tomorrow everything will go back to normal, and we will transport the children,” said Mndebele.
Departmental spokesperson Bongani Dhlamini confirmed the meeting.
“We will issue a statement after the meeting,” said Dhlamini.
On Wednesday, he said the delay was due to the cut-off date of the financial year, which concluded in March. He said the department was also implementing a new financial system.
SowetanLIVE
Pupils brave elements to walk one hour to school after buses suspended service
Image: Thulani Mbele
A long 7km walk along the busy N11 freeway, mud-caked, tired eyes and sweat from the blazing sun.
All these marked the beginning of a school day on Thursday for some of Mpumalanga pupils who were left stranded for the second day after scholar transport service providers stopped work due to nonpayment.
A Mkhulu Combined School's grade 12 pupil said he left his home at 7am and it took him more than an hour to get to the institution.
“The reason I left my home at 7am is because at that time, the sun was already out. It is not safe because we walk next to a freeway and some cars are speeding and others are overtaking. I'm afraid they may lose control and hit us," said the pupil who asked not to be named.
“Now that we missed classes for two days, they [teachers] will want us to stay for extra class and after that we will have to walk home again at it would be late by then,” he said.
More than 500 scholar transport operators across the province took a resolution to stop work, leaving thousands of children stranded.
Some pupils used bicycles to reach the school on Goedehoop farm along the N11 to Loskop Dam.
Leti Sihlangu who was walking her daughter to Mkhulu Combined School, which is 22,7km north of Middelburg town, expressed disappointment.
“It is painful that the children are unable to go to school, and instead of going to work, I am now accompanying my child to school. I had to call my boss at night yesterday [Wednesday] to tell her that I will not be coming to work because of this situation,” Sihlangu said.
She said it had taken them an hour to get to school. The school serves children living on nearby farms and surrounding rural settlements such as Piet Tlou.
Another parent, Sarah Ntshoane, said: “I left my place at 6.30am and got here at 7.30am. I went to meet other kids halfway to ensure that they get to school safe."
Mkhulu Combined School's SGB chairperson Skhumbuzo Mabaso said some students walked up to 7km to reach the school.
“With the parents that are here we will head to the department of public works to demand that they pay service providers because kids cannot afford such long distance to get to school. Some stay as far 15km away and I don’t think they will come,” he said.
Provincial Small Bus Operators Association secretary Sipho Mndebele said the meeting was concluded between them and the government on Thursday afternoon.
“It was a positive meeting, they acknowledged our concerns, and they told us that they had run out of budget.
“We embarked on this [strike] because initially they had promised to pay end of April and it was going to be impossible for us to manage to operate for that long, but with the new commitment, we will be able to operate till next week. We have spoken to our members and they all understand we have reached a point to say tomorrow everything will go back to normal, and we will transport the children,” said Mndebele.
Departmental spokesperson Bongani Dhlamini confirmed the meeting.
“We will issue a statement after the meeting,” said Dhlamini.
On Wednesday, he said the delay was due to the cut-off date of the financial year, which concluded in March. He said the department was also implementing a new financial system.
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