MIDDELBURG – A dispute over scholar transport at Mkhulu Secondary School in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality has escalated after the Democratic Alliance (DA) announced on Friday, 24 July 2026, that it intends to report the Mpumalanga government to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
The party alleges that 455 of the school's 1 140 learners have been unable to attend classes since the start of the third term due to a lack of scholar transport.
The DA claims the school, located about 22 kilometres outside Middelburg, requires 15 buses, but the provincial government is providing only eight.
According to DA Mpumalanga education spokesperson Annerie Weber, the school and its School Governing Body (SGB) have been paying between R80 000 and R100 000 per month for private buses, with some buses making two trips a day. However, the funding was exhausted at the start of the third term.
"Some of these learners are forced to travel more than 5 kilometres a day in risky conditions just to attend school," Weber said.
She added that unemployed parents had also been asked to contribute R50 per month towards transport costs, which the DA argues infringes on learners' constitutional right to basic education.
The DA cited Section 29(1) of the Constitution and a December 2024 Makhanda High Court judgment, arguing that scholar transport forms part of the constitutional right to education.
However, the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport rejected the DA's claims on 27 July 2026, describing them as "misleading."
Department spokesperson Bongani Dhlamini said scholar transport is provided only to learners who live 5 kilometres or more from the nearest appropriate public school, in line with the Provincial Scholar Transport Policy.
"The learners referred to by the DA reside within a radius of less than 5 kilometres from the school and therefore do not meet the prescribed eligibility criteria," he said.
Dhlamini added that learners currently receiving scholar transport at Mkhulu Secondary School all live beyond the 5km threshold and were identified through the approved verification process.
"Consequently, there is no shortage of buses at Mkhulu Secondary School, as the fleet has been allocated in accordance with the approved number of eligible beneficiaries."
The department further stated that it cannot take responsibility for transport arrangements made independently by a school governing body that fall outside the requirements of the provincial policy.
"This criterion is applied consistently across the province," Dhlamini said, calling on the DA to "refrain from misleading the public for political gain and instead engage constructively… through the appropriate oversight mechanisms."
The DA maintains it will proceed with its complaint to the SAHRC and continue advocating for scholar transport for the affected learners, while the department insists the service is being provided fairly, transparently and in accordance with the approved policy.
