The scholar transport problems in the Eastern Cape are well documented. Hardly a year passes by without this publication reporting on this matter.
In 2023, our reporters had first-hand experience of the danger pupils at Jojweni Zweliyandila High School in Chalumna face every day on their way to and from school.
While walking with the children, our reporters were accosted by an armed thug, who robbed them and damaged their vehicle.
The incident was covered extensively and the provincial authorities reacted by providing transport for the children.
At that point, we thought the government would find a permanent solution to the recurrent problem right across the province. We were wrong.
The scholar transport crisis has once again landed the provincial government in court.
The South African Human Rights Commission has approached the Makhanda high court in an urgent application seeking to compel the provincial government to provide scholar transport to more than 40,000 qualifying pupils who remain without this essential service.
This is not merely a dispute about budgets, administration or departmental responsibilities.
It is a crisis about children's constitutional right to education, their safety and their future.
What makes this situation particularly disturbing is that it is not new.
In December 2024, the Makhanda high court declared the provincial government's failure to provide scholar transport to qualifying pupils unconstitutional and ordered the authorities to address the problem.
Yet, almost two years later, thousands of pupils are still being left behind.
This raises a fundamental question: What value does a court order have if government departments repeatedly fail to implement it?
The provincial administration cannot continue hiding behind budgetary constraints, administrative difficulties and disagreements between departments.
While financial pressures are real and public resources are limited, the government has a responsibility to plan properly, prioritise essential services and ensure that allocated resources reach the people they are intended to serve.
The consequences of lack of scholar transport extend far beyond missed school days.
Pupils who walk long distances arrive exhausted, have less time for homework and face additional safety risks.
Those who remain at home lose valuable teaching time and may struggle to catch up with their peers.
For matric pupils, lost classroom time can have particularly serious consequences.
The provincial government must now move beyond promises and produce a credible, funded and measurable plan.
It must establish an accurate database of qualifying pupils, resolve payment disputes with operators, provide transparent timelines for outstanding applications and ensure that every eligible child receives safe and reliable transport.
A child should never have to take the government to court, through their parents or a human rights body, simply to get to school.
The time for explanations has passed. The children need transport, they need their classrooms and they need government to deliver.