CHILOANE PLACES BURDEN OF TRANSPORT OVERSIGHT ON PARENTS AND SCHOOLS

Wed 21 January 2026:

The National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations (NAISA) has pushed back against calls for schools to police scholar transport, arguing that road safety is a shared responsibility rather than a burden for schools alone.

This follows remarks by Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane, who suggested that parents and schools should take the lead in monitoring the vehicles transporting children.

“Protecting learners requires decisive action and shared responsibility. We urge authorities to act swiftly to strengthen oversight so that such a loss is never repeated,” said Ebrahim Ansur, Secretary General of NAISA, which represents over 1,500 independent schools nationwide.

Speaking at the scene of the Vanderbijlpark tragedy on Monday, Chiloane emphasised the need for parents and schools to be wary of service providers.

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“I’ve always called for greater awareness from parents to monitor the vehicles that are taking their children,” he said. “Schools… know that they have the responsibility, amongst others, to look at the cars that are dropping learners at school [and] to have a register of each and every vehicle that brings children to the school so that they are able to account that this car, this plate number and this driver are responsible for this particular child.”

The debate comes in the wake of a horrific accident in Vanderbijlpark on Monday. A minibus taxi and a truck collided along the R553, claiming the lives of 12 children and hospitalising five others. The tragedy has reignited a national conversation regarding the safety of transport providers many parents are forced to rely on daily.

Ansur clarified that while NAISA agrees schools should take “reasonable steps” to ensure transport arrangements meet basic safety standards, their authority has firm limits.

“Schools are not regulators, traffic authorities, or law-enforcement agencies,” Ansur stated. “Day-to-day compliance with road safety laws, driver behaviour, vehicle maintenance and enforcement rests with transport operators and the relevant state authorities.”

According to NAISA, learner safety depends on a chain of accountability involving responsible operators, parental due diligence and diligent schools acting within their legal mandates.

“Placing full responsibility on schools alone risks creating expectations that are neither practical nor legally sustainable and unfair,” Ansur concluded.

Police confirmed that the 22-year-old taxi driver involved in the crash has been arrested. He is expected to appear in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court this week, facing 12 counts of culpable homicide along with charges of reckless and negligent driving.