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By Johnathan Paoli
Thousands of learners across the Eastern Cape were left stranded on Monday morning as scholar transport operators embarked on a shutdown in protest over months of non-payment by the provincial Department of Transport.
The disruption, which coincides with the start of the new school term, has once again thrown the province’s embattled scholar transport system into disarray, raising fears that access to education for thousands of rural learners is being systematically undermined.
According to Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Education MEC Horatio Hendricks, the protest was a direct result of the department’s chronic mismanagement and repeated failure to honour payment agreements with contracted transport operators.
“Once again our children have been forced to walk long distances to school or turn back home entirely, while the Department once again shifts the blame. For rural families who depend on these services for safe access to education, this failure is not an inconvenience. It is a direct assault on their constitutional right to learn,” Hendricks said.
The shutdown has affected learners in several districts, including OR Tambo, Chris Hani, Alfred Nzo, and Amathole, where school attendance has plummeted since transport services came to a halt.
Many operators, unable to refuel vehicles or pay drivers, have suspended operations indefinitely until the department settles outstanding invoices dating back several months.
This latest crisis underscores what the DA describes as a “complete collapse” of the Eastern Cape’s scholar transport programme, a system meant to ensure that over 120,000 learners from remote communities can safely reach their schools each day.
The Transport department, responsible for the service, has faced long-standing criticism for late payments, poor oversight, and failure to maintain contractual and safety compliance among service providers.
Hendricks noted that the department’s own reports show millions of rands still owed to transport operators, some of whom have been forced to take vehicles off the road due to expired licences or lack of funds for maintenance and fuel.
“The result is that many have been unable to renew vehicle licences, fuel their fleets, or meet basic safety standards. These failures are not isolated. They reflect years of mismanagement, ignored court orders, and a lack of political accountability,” he said.
While discussions between the department and operator associations are reportedly underway, with a possible resumption of services expected on Tuesday, Hendricks warned that the talks would only provide temporary relief unless the underlying governance and financial issues were addressed.
The DA has previously raised the alarm over the sustainability of the scholar transport system.
In July, the party tabled a motion in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature calling for an urgent compliance review of the 2022 Makhanda High Court order compelling the provincial government to expand and properly administer the programme.
The motion sought to force both the Departments of Education and Transport to submit progress reports, financial records, and verification data to the Legislature for oversight, but the debate has yet to be scheduled.
The scholar transport programme has long been a flashpoint in the Eastern Cape’s education crisis.
Many rural schools are situated far from learners’ homes, often requiring children to walk over 10 kilometres daily if transport is unavailable.
In past years, delayed payments and contract irregularities have repeatedly resulted in service suspensions, with devastating effects on attendance and academic performance.
As the province’s school term begins, the DA has called on Premier Oscar Mabuyane and the MECs for Transport and Education to take urgent corrective action and ensure full compliance with court and legislative mandates.
INSIDE EDUCATION