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To: Gauteng Department of Education, MEC of Education Matome Chiloane

We demand that Gauteng Department of Education bring back school transport NOW!

Last week, the Department’s spokesperson told us that Scholar buses would resume this week, and we have received confirmation from various people that buses are back and their children are back in school. Read more here: https://www.ewn.co.za/gauteng-scholar-transport-resumes-as-mec-pushes-compliance-crackdown/#google_vignette

CC BY-SA 4.0

[Update: 09 February 2026] We delivered the petition and memorandum to the Gauteng Department of Education and gave them until Friday, 13th of February 2026, to respond to the memorandum, since this is an urgent matter. We will keep you updated.

Learners are not attending school because there are no buses to transport them. This is happening because the Department of Education has not been making payments to the bus operators [1].

We demand that the department quickly find solutions to bring the buses back immediately, because we cannot afford learners falling behind due to the Department of Education's failure to do its job. The Department is infringing on our children's right to education, the very right they are mandated to protect. 


Why is this important?

  • A lot of children from disadvantaged backgrounds are affected since they are the ones who mostly use buses, as they cannot afford to pay for private transportation. 
  • There are children who can't walk to school because they live near farms with no school close by, and very few taxis
  • Some of these children are still very young to travel to school on their own, so they need reliable transport.
  • Their safety is not prioritised, as they are also exposed to human trafficking, as they have to hike to school. 

References

1. Concerned parents urge GDE to resolve scholar transport problems by SABC, 03 February 2026. https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/concerned-parents-urge-gde-to-resolve-scholar-transport-problems/


Category

Updates

2026-02-17 14:00:52 +0200

Petition is successful with 660 signatures

2026-02-07 12:04:19 +0200

500 signatures reached

2026-02-06 13:03:50 +0200

100 signatures reached

2026-02-06 10:44:13 +0200

50 signatures reached

2026-02-06 10:21:56 +0200

25 signatures reached

2026-02-06 09:59:13 +0200

10 signatures reached