Grant system for school transport on the cards after rise in road deaths
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said she would consider putting in place a system of grants to ring-fence funds intended for scholar transport following a spate of horrific accidents involving pupils. Motshekga met the Council of Education Ministers last week after a rise in deadly accidents reignited debate about the state of scholar transport, including the deaths of 20 pupils in April when a minibus taxi transporting them was involved in an accident. The council is a formal forum at which the provincial basic education MECs hold discussions with the minister. "The department is open to looking at a case for the ring-fencing of the learner transport budget in the form of a conditional grant to ensure that the budget is spent in the area it is intended for," Motshekga said. "The relevant engagement will be undertaken with the National Treasury to see if this is a possibility." Equal Education lobbied the department for three years about the issue. It highlighted the plight...
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