September 23, 2021
By Aruna Kamara
School going children in Bo are bitterly grumbling over the grounding of two school buses in Bo as they are trekking from long distance to access their schools.
Speaking to A-Z Newspaper in a downbeat mood along Dambala Road in Bo, a pupil of Christ the King College, Edwin Lamin said that ” I am coming from a poor home and my parent could not afford to pay five thousand Leones every day to board motor bike to go to school but the introduction of the Free and Quality Education school buses, it has reduced the transportation burden on our parents.”
He however said that it is disheartening and frustrating to note that the grounding of the school buses has left me trekking to go to school because the number of the buses on the street has reduced and the demand for it is high now.
Lamin said that it would be good for the government or the Bo City Council to ensure that it repairs the grounded school buses.
Timothy Gassim, a pupil of Milton Comprehensive Secondary School in Bo, said that he is staying around the Bo Mini Stadium and finding it difficult to use the school buses to go to school as the one that was regularly moving to the area where he stays is not seen any longer visible. He pleaded with the authorities to speedily look into their concerns.
A physically challenge student said that ” I am not sure if the government is serious about the actualization of the Free and Quality Education (FQE) and I am saying this because if buses are not in good working order, it is the responsibility of the central or local government to speedily take action in repairing them tol aid the movement of us to school. Some pupils don’t go to school regularly and I am one of them because it is difficult to access the school bus.”
Jonathan Conteh called on President Bio to take action against the authorities in charge of maintenance the buses for negligence of duty, noting that this is blatant sabotage of the Free and Quality Education.
Reacting to the concerns of the pupils on Classic Radio 99.7FM in Bo, the Information, Education and Communication Officer of the Bo City Mac’Ivan Kpandi Vandi said that: “I want the public to know that the Bo City Council is fully supporting the Free and Quality Education and other projects undertaken by the central government.”
He confirmed that two of the school buses are not in good working order and there is a signed Memorandum of Understanding that the council is not responsible for the maintenance of the school buses; it is rather the responsibility of the Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation (SLRTC).
According to Mr. Vandi, three buses were grounded initially and they informed the institution charged with the responsibility to maintenance them.
“SLRTC had done a need assessment on the bus during their tour to know the status of the buses and they went back. But when we saw the school children were suffering we informed SLRTC that Bo City Council wants to maintenance one of the three buses with minor problem and the green light was given to the Council to maintenance it, which was done and there are now three buses in good working order providing services to the school children in Bo,” he said. He added that “we are still waiting for SLRTC to maintenance the remaining two school buses.
Asked what will be done to drivers overloading the bus, Mr. Vandi said the Chief Administrator of the Bo City Council has frowned at overloading of the school buses, noting that action will be taken against the drivers who overload.