There’s been another school bus accident, this time in the North West province, which took place earlier this week.
There were 54 learners in the bus from Gaetsho Secondary School and J.M. Lekhetha High School when the steering wheel allegedly came off, resulting in 23 learners needing medical attention.
This is the third school bus incident reported since the beginning of the 2024 academic year. On Tuesday, the 6th of February 2024, six learners in the Free State lost their lives in a tragic bus accident on their way back from a school excursion. A week prior to that on the 2nd of February 2024, a Grade 6 learner, Kgosi Maloka from Modiselle Primary School in the Gauteng province, allegedly fell out of a moving bus on his way home when the rear wheels of the bus ran over him.
According to a media statement from the North West Department of Education, the bus driver allegedly jumped out of the moving bus, and it hit a tree before coming to a stop. An 18-year-old learner who was in the bus told the department that this is the second time that the bus steering wheel came off and the driver was unable to put it back.
The province’s MEC of Education, Viola Motsumi, said that the department is committed to provide the necessary medical care and counseling to all learners.
“The safety and well-being of our learners is our top priority. We are working closely with the relevant authorities to investigate the cause of this accident and ensure the implementation of necessary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Motsumi said.
The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management Head of Department, Dr Hans Kekana, said that the scholar transport service provider rented out a bus on the day of the vehicle verification process.
“The service provider would not have been given a service level agreement if this
was the bus that was inspected. As per the service level agreement, this kind of contravention leaves us with no option but to terminate the agreement with the service provider,” Dr Kekana said.