By: Mohamed M. Sesay
As transportation situation worsens, School Pupils across various Schools have appealed to the New Direction Government to provide additional School Buses as the available buses cannot address the growing number of pupils due to the positive impact of Free Quality Education which has increased school enrolment.
Grace Kargbo, a pupil for the Ann Walsh Memorial School, narrated that she and many other pupils are faced with acute transportation challenges. She appealed to the government to provide more additional school buses to eradicate lateness in school. She intimated to A-Z Newspaper that she stays in wellington and has to stand in the queue as early as 5:00 a.m to have access to public Transportation. She added that the disadvantage for them as pupils is the exorbitant fares drives collect from them. She said drivers ask them to pay double the normal transportation fare, especially taxi drivers, or risk getting to school very late if refuse to pay double. She, therefore, craved the indulgence of the New Direction government to heed their cry and provide more additional school buses.
James Vandi, another pupil for Prince of Wales School, acknowledged that for the Government of Sierra Leone under the leadership to reintroduce school bus services after a very long time, was indeed a commendable one. He added that the importance of those school buses in taking pupils to and from their various schools is indeed a commendable one. He, however, expressed his dismay that the available school buses are not enough to address the many lacunae they are faced with in terms of having access to transportation when going to school and after school.
James Vandi also acknowledged that the unique advantage of the school bus service is the affordability aspect especially when transportation fare is very expensive due to the effects of global gas constraint. For the government to reduce more financial burden on their parents, he also appealed to the government to make more additional provisions for School buses. He said most of their colleague pupils cannot sometimes go to school due to transportation challenges.
As a single parent of five kids, Kadiatu Kamara disclosed that she spends over five hundred new Leones a week on transportation fare alone to get her children to school. As a poor petty trader, she considered such a very colossal financial constraint on her part. She confessed that sometimes if her children are fortunate to have access to the school bus, she could pay lesser than what she pays for her kids when using commercial means of transportation. She stressed the important of the school bus service and therefore, humbly requested the Bio-led administration to increase the School Bus Service. She said the available buses are now very infinitesimal to address the growing number of school-going pupils due to the positive impact of Free Quality Education.
“The available school buses are very limited to address the current pupils population. The good impact of Free Quality Education coupled with its Free School Feeding Programme has resulted in more pupils going to school. So we just want to appeal to President Bio to buy more school buses for our pupils”, she appealed.