North West scholar transport challenges continue after 71 pupils were involved in a bus accident in the Delareyville-based Tswaing Municipality on Tuesday, 17 February.
The Department of Community Safety and Transport confirmed that 37 pupils sustained injuries, while the rest are still undergoing medical assessment and observation at Coligny Clinic.
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Pupils from Gamaloka Village were travelling to school when the accident occurred on a gravel road between Sleepsteen and Gerdau Farms.
Community Safety and Transport MEC, Wessels Morweng said according to the driver, the bus hit a hump on the gravel road, leading to the steering wheel disengaging and becoming non-functional.
The driver was unable to control the bus and it veered off the road and overturned.
Morweng has since wished all pupils a speedy recovery.
“The department has begun a full investigation into the accident and appropriate remedial and corrective measures will be taken thereafter.”
“An operator, as per the Service Level Agreement, will provide pupils with alternative transport.
“The department, however, has a panel of operators who, if needs be, will be assigned the responsibility of transporting pupils,” said Morweng.
In January 2026, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released a scathing report exposing the chaos surrounding scholar transport in the province.
In the damning 82-page report, the commission revealed how affected departments, including the Department of Education and others, failed in their mandate to provide scholar transport to needy pupils.
The report highlights the plight of 5 468 pupils and contains evidence, including official correspondence and photographs, detailing systemic failures by the departments involved.
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SAHRC spokeswoman, Shirley Mlombo said the failures also affected pupils living with disabilities across the province.
She said many pupils are still forced to walk long and dangerous distances to school or miss classes altogether due to ongoing failures in the province’s scholar transport system.
