The Vaal accident exposes a broken scholar transport system

The tragic crash in the Vaal that claimed the lives of 13 learners is a devastating reminder of how unsafe scholar transport has become in South Africa. While investigations will focus on the immediate cause of the crash, the deeper truth is impossible to ignore. This was not simply a road accident. It was the predictable outcome of a broken system that has failed to protect children on their journey to and from school.

Every school day, thousands of learners rely on private and informal transport operators to access education. For many families, especially in working-class and rural communities, scholar transport is not a choice but a necessity. Yet this sector continues to operate with limited oversight, inconsistent standards, and weak enforcement. The result is a daily gamble with children’s lives that only becomes visible when tragedy strikes. A central flaw in the current system is the expectation that schools should vet transport service providers. This responsibility is not only inappropriate but dangerous. Schools are educational institutions, not regulatory authorities. Principals and school governing bodies are already overwhelmed with academic, administrative, and social responsibilities. Asking them to verify vehicle roadworthiness, driver competence, insurance compliance, and legal permits places an unfair burden on institutions that lack both the expertise and the authority to enforce safety standards.

In practice, school-level vetting often amounts to little more than checking documents that may be outdated or inaccurate. There is rarely the capacity to conduct physical inspections or ongoing monitoring. When schools raise concerns, they often lack the power to act decisively. This creates a false sense of security while allowing unsafe vehicles and unqualified drivers to continue transporting learners. Scholar transport should be treated as a public safety function. The responsibility for vetting and regulating service providers must lie with the state. Provincial departments of transport and education must jointly establish clear, enforceable standards that apply to all scholar transport operators. Licensing should be centralised, inspections should be regular and unannounced, and non-compliant operators should be removed from the road immediately. Anything less exposes children to unacceptable risk.

The Vaal tragedy also highlights the deep inequalities embedded in the system. Learners from affluent communities are far more likely to travel in safer, well regulated vehicles. In contrast, learners from poorer communities often depend on informal operators using old and overcrowded vehicles because there are no viable alternatives. This means that the risk of injury or death on the way to school is shaped by income and geography. Such inequality is both unjust and unconstitutional. When accidents occur, accountability is often unclear. Transport operators point to poor road conditions or mechanical failure.

Schools argue that they are not responsible for transport safety. Government departments express sympathy and promise investigations. Meanwhile, families are left grieving with little assurance that meaningful change will follow. This diffusion of responsibility ensures that systemic failures persist. Condolences and memorials, while important, are not enough. What is required is decisive action. Scholar transport must be recognised as an essential service that demands strict regulation and sustained investment. The government must create a national database of approved operators, ensure proper funding for learner transport programmes, and strengthen law enforcement capacity to deal with violations. Schools must be relieved of a role they were never equipped to perform. The right to education includes the right to access education safely. Safety does not begin at the school gate and end when the final bell rings. It begins when a learner leaves home in the morning and ends only when they return safely.

A system that fails to protect children during this journey undermines the very foundation of that right. The deaths of the 13 learners in the Vaal should be a turning point. If this tragedy does not lead to meaningful reform of scholar transport regulation, then the system will remain complicit in future loss of life. Protecting children is not optional. It is a moral, legal, and constitutional obligation. South Africa must act now to ensure that no child risks their life simply by trying to get to school.

*Mayalo is an independent writer and the views expressed are not necessarily those of Independent Media