Departments discuss scholar transport solutions amid budget cuts

The Departments of Basic Education (DBE) and Transport are exploring ways to secure safe scholar transport following recent budget cuts.

The matter was discussed in a recent briefing to the Select Committee on Education, Sciences, and Creative Industries.

Currently, 667 000 students use the National Scholar Transport Programme, while 2.8 million rely on private scholar transport.

Government aims to eventually cover all learners under its subsidised transport system.

Committee Chairperson Makhi Feni says, “The briefing that we received was mainly around the question of the current shortage that we find ourselves confronted with in terms of the budget due to budget cuts that the department has embarked on. However, there was this brief background of where we were coming from and then the aggravating circumstances onto, and also what can be the mitigating factors in order to overcome those challenges.”