FIVE DAYS LATER, AND SOME CHOISEUL/SALTIBUS STUDENTS ARE STILL WITHOUT TRANSPORT
Five school days have passed since classrooms reopened.
While many students are settling into their new routines, a number of children from Choiseul and Saltibus are still trying to figure out how they will get to school each day.
Let us be clear. These children are not refusing to attend school. Their parents are not neglecting their responsibilities.
They simply do not have access to reliable school transportation.
Back in July, following the release of the CPEA results, Choiseul on the Move raised this very concern. We pointed out that students assigned to Beanefield Secondary School could be placed at a serious disadvantage because they did not benefit from a government-supported transportation programme comparable to what is available for some other schools.
We appealed for action before the new school year began.
We did not wait until the last minute.
We even held one-on-one discussions with officials at the Choiseul/Saltibus Constituency Office. The problem was explained. The urgency was made clear. Officials had enough time to raise the matter with the Ministry of Education and seek a practical solution.
Yet five school days into the term, nothing meaningful has been done.
These Children Were Not Suddenly Assigned to Beanefield
The Ministry of Education knew where these students were placed.
The constituency office knew where they lived.
Officials knew that parents were concerned about transportation. They also knew that uniforms, books, meals and other school expenses had already placed heavy pressure on many households.
So why was transportation left unresolved?
This was not an unexpected emergency. It was a known problem that was allowed to follow these children right into the new school year.
And now parents must find money every morning, depend on favours or hope that somebody passing can give their child a ride.
That is not a transportation policy.
That is government leaving families to fend for themselves.
A School Placement Is Useless If a Child Cannot Reach the Classroom
We enjoy announcing CPEA results and congratulating students when they succeed. We publish their photographs and speak proudly about the future of our young people.
But our responsibility cannot end with applause.
A place at Beanefield Secondary School means very little if the child cannot get there safely, reliably and on time.
Education does not begin when the teacher starts the lesson. It begins when a child can leave home with confidence, knowing that transportation is available.
No student should miss classes, arrive late or feel uncertain about continuing school simply because of where that student lives or the school to which the Ministry assigned them.
The Ministry Must Take Responsibility
The Ministry of Education cannot claim to provide equal access to education while leaving transportation entirely on the backs of struggling parents.
If the Ministry assigns students from Choiseul and Saltibus to a school outside their immediate area, then transportation must form part of that decision.
Not after parents complain.
Not several weeks into the term.
Before school opens.
The Ministry must now explain what immediate arrangements will be made for the affected students. Whether the solution is an expanded bus service, subsidized fares or direct transportation assistance, something practical must be put in place.
These children cannot travel to school on promises.
The Constituency Office Must Also Answer
The Choiseul/Saltibus Constituency Office cannot escape responsibility by saying transportation falls under the Ministry.
The office is supposed to represent the people of the constituency. When families raise a serious problem affecting their children’s education, that office must advocate, follow up and demand action from the relevant ministry.
Listening to residents is not enough.
Taking their names and promising to look into the matter is not enough.
A constituency office must produce results, especially when the welfare and education of children are at stake.
If officials were aware of this situation and school still opened without a solution, then the system failed these families.
We Are Calling for Immediate Action
Choiseul on the Move is calling on the Ministry of Education and the Choiseul/Saltibus Constituency Office to treat this matter as urgent.
Identify the affected students.
Speak with their parents.
Establish a temporary arrangement immediately.
Then put a proper transportation system in place so these families do not have to fight the same battle every school year.
The original appeal was respectful and gave officials time to act. That time has passed.
School is already in progress.
The children are waiting.
How many more school days must pass before somebody in authority decides they matter?
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