Pupils receive bicycles to make getting to school easier

More than 900 bicycles have been distributed to pupils in rural parts of the OR Tambo district to help them travel to school safely and cut down long daily walks.

The bicycles were handed over at Pondolwendlovu Senior Secondary School in Ngqeleni on Thursday as part of the national department of transport’s Shova Kalula programme.

Transport deputy minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa led the handover, joined by education MEC Fundile Gade, Nyandeni mayor Viwe Ndamase and Nkosi Mlimandlela Ndamase, of the Ngqubusini Traditional Council.

The initiative targets pupils in Ngqeleni, Libode and Port St Johns, where many pupils walk long distances to school, often in difficult conditions.

Nkosi Mlimandlela Ndamase said the intervention had been years in the making.

“In 2022, 11 schoolchildren died in a tragic car accident in Ngqeleni, and last year, three teachers were lost,” he said.

“The community approached the department of transport for help, seeking to alleviate challenges faced by young people in the area.

“The area is rural, and kids walk long distances to school in harsh weather conditions.”

He said the community had been requesting assistance since 2019.

“Sixteen schools across three magisterial districts will benefit, with 927 kids receiving bicycles.

“The kids have been trained on road safety and bicycle use to ensure their safety.

“The bicycles will help kids ride to school safely, addressing the current lack of scholar transport,” he said.

Hlengwa said the programme targeted pupils from low-income households who walked more than 3km to school.

“The Eastern Cape has identified 147,215 learners in need of transport across 1,173 schools.

“The province plans to transport 103,001 learners this financial year, which accounts for 70% of the need.

“More than 44,000 learners are currently not being transported,” he said.

He said funding constraints remained a major challenge.

To help close the gap, the province plans to expand the bicycle programme.

“In this province, we will allocate 1,750 bicycles in the 2026/2027 financial year, 2,100 in 2027/2028 and 2,450 in 2028/2029, bringing the total to 6,300 bicycles over three years,” Hlengwa said.

Pupils receiving bicycles will undergo road safety training provided by provincial and national transport departments.

“It is our hope that these bicycles will remain assets of not only the schools, but also of the community, and that they will be protected from abuse and theft,” he said.

The bicycles will remain the property of the schools to support future pupils.

Hlengwa said the programme formed part of the broader national pupil transport policy, which included both motorised and non-motorised solutions.

“The objective is to promote cycling as a low-cost mobility solution to improve access to schools, particularly in underserved communities,” he said.

Gade said the bicycle initiative offered a practical alternative where the state could not meet the full demand for scholar transport.

“This pro-rural initiative will help learners access institutions and succeed in basic education,” he said.

Gade said the province had received R177m to address the backlog in scholar transport, which continued to affect tens of thousands of learners.

“Scholar transport is an enabler for curriculum delivery, and its effectiveness impacts educational outcomes.

“Alignment between the transport and education departments is crucial,” he said.

Daily Dispatch