Theme: learner_transport
Responsible: Department of Basic Education / DOT
DBE and DOT responsibility overlap creates chronic implementation gaps and budget fragmentation. Provincial transport budgets are insufficient. The education outcome evidence is clear — attendance and attainment suffer significantly from unsafe, long journeys. This is a tractable problem if inter-governmental fiscal arrangements are reformed.
Approximately 5-7 million South African learners travel more than 5 km to their nearest school, yet the country lacks a nationally funded, consistently implemented learner transport programme. The DBE's Learner Transport Policy (2015) provides a framework but funding is a provincial competence, resulting in wide inter-provincial variation: some provinces provide subsidies while others provide none. Irregular or absent transport contributes to absenteeism, dropout, and gender-based safety risks for girls. The PC on Basic Education's BRRRs consistently flagged learner transport as a critical equity gap, particularly in rural Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal. A national conditional grant with standardised norms and minimum service standards is the proposed reform.
Referenced in OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa
OECD SA Survey (2020, 2022, 2025). Transport reform recommended to improve logistics performance and reduce costs.
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How to cite
Wilse-Samson, L. (2026). Learner Transport Policy: Funded National Programme. SA Policy Space. NYU Wagner School of Public Policy. Retrieved 11 May 2026, from https://sa-policy-space.vercel.app/ideas/learner-transport-policy-funded-national-programme?snapshot=2026-05-11
Data as of 2026-05-11 · latest PMG meeting 2026-05-08
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