He said these pupils had to walk more than 10km from their homes to school. "The school is far from the villages and they have to walk long distances. "Others from the village of Njwaxu were receiving school transport and some others, who could afford it, have put their children in transport. "But most of the parents are unemployed and cannot afford that," he said. Venene said pupils had reported that they were robbed of their belongings or even in timidated by criminals. "We do have fears that they might be hurt when going to school. "Since 2016, I have been involved at the school and we have been requesting transport. Only a few get to benefit." Venene said he was from Mbizana which was quite far from the school, compared with other villages. While embarking on the day's walk with the pupils, a parent who spoke to the Dispatch pleaded with authorities to intervene. Yandiswa Nquma said: "Pupils need transport. "Our children are at risk, their safety is compromised. "In our community, there is Our children are at risk, their safety is compromised. In our community, there is violence between boys violence between boys. "They often fight using shaped objects." She said her daughter was in grade 10 and walking to and from school was a safety risk with many ills happening in communities. When it rained, their children arrived at school wet including their books. "Not all of us can afford to have private transport. "She gets to school on a normal day tired even before classes start," Nquma said. Eastern Cape human rights officer Xolisa Mjekula said they had walked with more than 50 pupils from different villages on Wednesday morning. "It was challenging on a normal day. I wonder how it feels on a rainy day" he said. He was concerned that budget cuts were affecting pupils. Mjekula said commissioner Prof Tsepho Madlingozi and the Eastern Cape office would be meeting the provincial legislature's speaker to table the matter. "We will also as a province monitor the decisions taken during our engagement," he said. Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said they have 30 pupils who benefit from scholar transport. "There may be other learners who walk fairly long distances that may not quite meet the 5km to school and 5km back according to our scholar transport threshold which is contained in our book policy" Binqose added there may be pupils who travelled from far as they preferred that school over one that was closer to where they stayed. "Unfortunately what is referred to as a school of choice is not catered for by scholar transport."

Source: Daily Dispatch