- The SAHRC mandates immediate actions to restore safety, reliability, and accessibility in North West scholar transport.
- Overcrowding, unsafe vehicles, and exclusion disproportionately affect rural and disabled learners, requiring urgent systemic reform.
- Binding directives include clearing payment backlogs, marking vehicles, establishing a complaints centre, and reviewing policies for eligibility, inclusion, and safety.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has ordered North West education and transport authorities to clear payment backlogs, mark all scholar transport vehicles, set up a complaints call centre, and review policies to ensure safe, inclusive, and reliable transport for all learners.
SAHRC Commissioner Nomahlubi Khwinana, who chaired the inquiry into the systemic challenges in the scholar transport programme in the North West, said, “Every learner, including the most impoverished and those with disabilities, must access safe, reliable, and dignified scholar transport.”
Unsafe vehicles, unsafe journeys
The SAHRC found many buses and taxis used for scholar transport were unroadworthy, with worn tyres, expired licences, fuel leaks, and broken safety features. Witnesses described some vehicles as “coffins on wheels.”
Frequent breakdowns caused missed lessons, forced long walks, and exhaustion. At Malefo Secondary School, inspectors observed overcrowding and unsafe vehicles, while at George Madoda Primary, learners missed school entirely when buses failed.
A parent testified, “We are told buses will come, but our children walk. We are told they are safe, but the buses break down. We are told there is money, but the operators are not paid.”
Exclusion and inequality
The inquiry revealed systemic exclusion, with thousands of eligible learners denied transport due to budget constraints. Rural and disabled learners were hardest hit, lacking accessible vehicles or alternatives. The SAHRC concluded these failures violated learners’ constitutional rights to education, equality, dignity, and safety.
The report noted, “The burden of this crisis falls most heavily and disproportionately on impoverished learners, especially those in rural areas who cannot afford substitute transport.”
Institutional failures
Responsibility was fragmented between the North West Department of Education and the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, weakening oversight and enforcement.
Budget delays and operator payment backlogs caused service withdrawals, unlawful vehicle substitutions, and deferred maintenance. Auditor-General findings noted irregular expenditure and payments for undelivered services. School Governing Bodies were found lacking the capacity to monitor or report safety breaches, leaving learners exposed.
While the state introduced remedial measures such as inspections, reporting groups, route audits, and workshops, the Commission found these efforts inconsistent and inadequate.
Enforcement remained weak, supervision absent, and thousands of learners remained excluded. As one union representative told the inquiry, “We cannot continue to gamble with children’s lives. The buses are unsafe, the system is broken, and the departments are passing the buck.”
Directives for urgent change
The SAHRC has set clear, time-bound directives. Within 60 days, authorities must report progress and develop costed plans to address overcrowding, disability inclusion, and fraud risks.
Within 90 days, they must clear payment backlogs, ensure all eligible learners are transported, mark all vehicles, and establish a complaints call centre.
Within 180 days, policies must be reviewed to strengthen eligibility criteria, disability inclusion, driver vetting, emergency protocols, and private transport regulation. The SAHRC emphasised that reforms must be decisive, coordinated, and closely monitored.
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