Scholar transport operators affected by Cape Town taxi violence should report the disruption to the Western Cape Education Department so that learners needing help can be identified, a parliamentary committee chairperson said on Saturday.
Makhi Feni, chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and the Creative Industries, called for national guidance and a clearer account of the support available to affected pupils.
His 31 October statement raises the educational consequences of violence earlier in the week, including shootings in Delft. It does not announce a new Saturday attack.
Support beyond reaching an exam centre
Feni said reports that Grade 12 learners had been affected were concerning. He wanted details of which learners needed assistance and what support they were receiving, including safe transport and psychosocial help.
“It is not enough to just appreciate that children arrived at exam centres,” he said.
He also asked what arrangements would be made for any learner who had arrived late or been unable to write. The statement gives no verified total of learners who missed examinations.
What education authorities have said
In a separate statement on Friday, the Department of Basic Education said no major reported incident threatened the overall credibility and integrity of the national matric examinations.
It nevertheless identified Western Cape taxi violence as a potential threat to learner and examination staff transport. The department said it was working with provincial education officials and relevant authorities to minimise disruption.
Affected schools and communities were encouraged to remain in close contact with provincial education authorities. Learners experiencing examination-related distress could seek help through educators, school-based support teams and available psychosocial services.
Separately, the City of Cape Town said on Friday afternoon that police had reported no taxi-related incidents that day and that minibus-taxi routes were operating. That was a Friday transport update, not a confirmation of Saturday conditions.
