EASTERN Cape Education MEC, Fundile Gade, has urged departments to work together to bring the best service delivery to the people. He said this while handing over 340 bicycles at Trinset College in Mthatha, last week.
Gade said these bicycles would assist learners who are travelling long distances to schools. He confirmed that this project belongs to the Department of Transport and was started in 2001.
He confirmed that learners who benefited from this are from OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo Districts. Gade said one of the things that were important about this programme was that it had a silent message. He said riding a bicycle was good exercise.
“If you are using a bike you are helping your body because you are training it. I appeal to the schools who receive these bikes to ensure that they take care of them. Secondly, they should not take this for granted because it will assist their learners,” said Gade.
According to the acting chief director for Department of Transport, Bhutise Makambi, this project was started in 2001, with the aim of assisting learners who come from deep rural areas. He said they had chosen bikes as one of the sets of equipment that could be used to support learners.
He said they had distributed 80 000 bikes nationally.
“In this province we have managed to assist 13 000 learners so far. We are assisting those learners who do not have access to scholar transport and come from the family who get an income of less than R1 500,” said Makambi. Executive Mayor for OR Tambo District Municipality, Tokozile Sokanyile, said this would be a better relief to the beneficiaries.
She said even though they didn’t have enough resources, their teachers were working very hard to produce learners who had a quality education.
“We are a poor district but that does not stop teachers from trying their level best to bring change in the education,” said Sokanyile.
