Issued by Marina van Zyl MP – DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education
33% of Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) and 19% of learners that qualify for learner transport do not receive the necessary transport assistance. This was revealed during a parliamentary portfolio committee on a crucial education meeting with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) this week.
The learner transport system in South Africa faces various challenges, particularly about including vulnerable scholars.
One of the critical concerns is the inconsistency in the placement of the learner transport function within different provincial departments. The DA believes that the process of learner transport should fall entirely under DBE and not be shared with the Department of Transport to ensure efficient and effective services for the most vulnerable in society.
We will advocate for this when the National Learner Transport Policy review comes before Parliament later this year and will present our inputs in writing to the committee.
The exclusion of LSEN, the most vulnerable in society and requiring significant government support, is of great concern. These learners of varying ages and disabilities rely on schools for essential mental stimulation and physical therapy. Typically hailing from disadvantaged communities, these are the children that this program was designed to assist. Instead, we must beg an uncaring ANC government to step in and provide the necessary resources to fulfill their constitutional right to receive primary education.
Government must take proactive measures to rectify this situation by placing the responsibility for learner transport under DBE where it rightfully belongs. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has had ample time to address this shortcoming, and her failure to do so shows how little learners’ struggles matter to the ANC.
Please click here for the soundbite by Marina van Zyl MP.
