PUPILS at Bokamoso Primary School didn’t go to school yesterday.
This was after parents closed down the school in Soshanguve, north of Tshwane, because the department of education failed to supply them with transport for their kids.
They said they sent an application for transport to the district last year and were told it would be supplied when schools reopened this year. But on Wednesday, they were surprised when they arrived at school to find no transport arrangements had been made.
A parent, Fanie Makam, said it’s been three years since they requested transport for their children, who have to travel long distances to school.
“Some of our kids are travelling over 10km to get to school. They suffer when it rains and in hot weather. When we tell the principal and the district about this, nothing is done,” said Fanie. He said they chased away the principal and deputy principal last year after a pupil was killed by a car on her way to school.
“The child was crossing a national road when the car hit her. We placed the blame on the principal as he didn’t want to listen to our problems regarding transport.”
They vowed to close down the school until their demands were met or Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi addressed them.
Tshwane North District director Paula Galego said they were aware of the situation and planned to meet parents.
“We received their application and are still processing it.We need the parents to be patient and not deprive their kids of an education.”