A distraught Huhudi, Vryburg family, is demanding justice after their daughter Kgothatso Goralotse, was injured after she fell from a moving bus that allegedly had loose windows and was overloaded.
Goralotse, the 5-year-old Grade R learner from Moeti Primary School was not even supposed to be in that bus, according to her mother Connie Goralotse, who criticised the government officials for failing to ensure her daughter’s safety.
“A bus collected my daughter on Friday morning, and 15 minutes after that two men, including the bus driver came to my house. Ironically it was not a bus driver that collected my child. When I asked about the driver that initially fetched my child I was just told that he exchanged with him meaning my child was ferried by a bus that I didn’t know.
“Her older sister told me that they were crammed to the grills and were pushing each other and she fell out of the window that was loose while the bus was going. This is really painful to imagine. After the accident the driver continued driving and he claims that he didn’t hear the kids when they were screaming trying to tell him that my child had fallen off through a window.
“I want justice for my child, her leg and arm were broken while she was injured in her head. This is really sad that our government gives contracts to people who have buses that are not road worthy.
“As a parent, I trust the Department of Education with my child’s safety at school and also on her way to school with the transport that is provided by the department. This should be a wakeup call to the department to avoid such incidents in the future,” Goralotse said.
The North West Department of Education spokesperson, Maphata Molokoane, said they’re aware of the incident.
“Moeti Primary School Grade R learner fell from the rear window of the scholar transport and suffered injuries, including a fractured arm. This incident occurred near Exit 25, where learners live.
“The mother did not report to the principal since she took her child to the hospital in the morning; evidently, other learners did not report when they arrived at school, though we cannot blame them because they are also children. Learners were crammed to the gills and began pushing each other.
“The Circuit Manager visited the family on Saturday, and the service provider said that they would visit the family today. It should be highlighted that the Department of Education benefits from scholar transport, although the Department that has chosen service providers for scholar transportation is the provincial Department of Community Safety Transport Management”.
The North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management is yet to comment on the matter.
