‘Vetting crisis’ — thousands of Gauteng scholar transport drivers not screened against offenders list

22 May 2025

More than 3,400 scholar transport drivers in Gauteng have not been vetted against the Child Protection Register, exposing pupils to potential risk. While the Department of Education deflects responsibility, parents, industry leaders and the DA have raised the alarm about gaps in regulation, background checks and accountability.

The safety of thousands of schoolchildren in Gauteng is under threat after it was revealed that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has failed to vet 3,400 scholar transport drivers against the Child Protection Register, potentially allowing individuals unsuitable to work with children to transport pupils daily.

This alarming revelation emerged in a written response by Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane to questions by the DA in the Gauteng legislature. The party has since announced it will report the department to the South African Human Rights Commission, demanding a forensic investigation into what it calls a “vetting crisis”.

According to section 126 (1) of the Children’s Act, any person working with or having access to children must be cleared against the Child Protection Register to ensure they are not deemed unfit to work with minors. The Act mandates that institutions responsible for children, including schools and youth care facilities, must ensure thorough vetting before employment.

The DA expressed outrage over the department’s failure to uphold this law, warning that it exposes pupils to potential abuse, including sexual harassment and access to inappropriate materials. The party also criticised Chiloane for shifting the responsibility of vetting to bus owners.

The controversy follows another scandal involving 12 convicted sex offenders who were allowed to continue teaching in Gauteng schools, further highlighting systemic weaknesses in safeguarding measures.

“The MEC should hang his head in shame for endangering our learners’ lives by failing to vet drivers who have unrestricted access to children during their daily commutes to and from school The DA will continue to pressurise the Gauteng Department of Education to ensure that all individuals working with our children are properly vetted without any further delay. This is essential to protect our learners from any potential criminal intent that could endanger their future,” the DA’s Gauteng education spokesperson, Michael Waters, said.

Vetting gaps exposed

In his response to the legislature Chiloane defended the department’s approach, saying all drivers are required to have valid police clearance certificates and had undergone the necessary security screening as part of the tender process. He insisted that the responsibility for Child Protection Register vetting lies with the private bus companies that employ the drivers.

“The department will request the companies to address this matter,” Chiloane stated. He also revealed that the GDE allocates R1.7-billion annually to scholar transport and works with multiple stakeholders, including the departments of community safety, roads and transport and health, as well as local municipalities, to ensure regulatory compliance.

However, Chiloane also said the GDE has not received any formal safety status reports for the vehicles transporting pupils, saying this function falls under the Department of Community Safety.

Responding to questions from Daily Maverick, the GDE insisted that it considered vetting “a crucial aspect for individuals working with children”, but added that the responsibility of vetting drivers fell onto the shoulders of service providers.

“All service providers signed service-level agreements, which stipulate that they must conduct vetting of drivers. The department submits a comprehensive list of all drivers to the Department of Justice,” said GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona.

He said that once a driver is found to be unfit to transport pupils, the service provider is told to immediately withdraw the implicated driver.

Mabona added that the department was in the process of collating all driver information to submit to justice and community safety departments, for the second year of the contract, and that all scholar transport drivers would be vetted by 30 June 2025.

Limited screening

Sibongile Maseko, the general secretary of the Greater Gauteng Learner Transport Organisation, acknowledged significant regulatory shortcomings in the scholar transport sector. She told Daily Maverick that while the organisation operates under the framework of the National Land Transport Act and the Transport Safety Act, it lacks a formal mechanism to vet drivers for criminal histories.

“There is a policy being developed around an offenders list,” Maseko said. “That list is currently with the Department of Transport, but as a scholar transport sector, we don’t have it on our desks yet.”

According to Maseko, the organisation’s current vetting process relies on document verification rather than comprehensive background checks.

“Before someone becomes a member, they must present themselves at our offices,” she explained. “We inspect their vehicle, verify that it is roadworthy and ensure the driver holds a valid licence, a Professional Driving Permit, and ideally an operating licence. However, many operators still don’t have one, and we’re in the process of helping them apply.”

Maseko stressed that while physical documents are reviewed, there is no system in place to screen for prior convictions. “What we do not have is a system to check criminal records. We only assess at face value. It is something we have been pushing for and we want to be able to thoroughly vet.”

She also detailed how local associations function at the regional level. Each region has its own leadership and administrative officers who work directly with drivers. Once a driver passes the initial checks, they are given an official sticker indicating they are authorised to transport children.

Beyond that, Maseko said, there is a contractual safeguard between drivers and parents.

“Because this is a door-to-door service, we require that every driver enters into a formal agreement with the child’s parent. This contract is provided by the association, signed by all parties, and copies are retained both by the parent and our office,” she said.

The organisation oversees about 5,200 drivers across Gauteng. Maseko added that regional associations regularly update their driver databases and submit reports to the provincial office to maintain oversight.

Parents in the dark

Many parents admitted they were unaware that scholar transport drivers were not vetted against the Child Protection Register. Instead, they often relied on word-of-mouth recommendations from other parents or residents when choosing a transport provider, basing their decisions on factors such as vehicle condition and cost and the driver’s perceived reliability.

One mother said she goes out of her way to monitor her child’s safety each day. “In the morning I wait until my daughter is in the taxi before I leave. In the afternoon, my older daughter, who’s 23 and studying through Unisa, waits for her,” she explained, adding that she’s taught both her children about inappropriate behaviour and regularly checks in with her younger daughter. “I ask her if the driver has ever done anything wrong or made her uncomfortable. Thankfully, she’s always said no, but I would feel much better knowing that he had been vetted against the Child Protection Register.”

Another mother said she had assumed the drivers were properly screened.

“I thought they would be, because everything seemed very formal and official. They were recommended to us by the school, you sign this contract, and the drivers always look neat and clean,” she said.

She acknowledged that, as a working parent, she has no choice but to rely on scholar transport services. “I can’t fetch and drop my child off every day. Vetting would give me peace of mind and it should be standard,” she said.

A father said he trusted the driver because the same person had been transporting children in the area for years without any reported issues.

“We know him from the community. He’s never given us a reason to doubt him. But when you hear that there’s no official check, it makes you worry what if someone slips through the cracks?” he said.

“There should be a national system. You shouldn’t have to rely on reputation when it comes to your child’s safety.”

Another parent said affordability often outweighs concerns about vetting.

“I pick the transport I can afford, and I ask other moms if they’ve had any problems. That’s really all I can do. Most of us don’t even think about background checks because we just assume the government is taking care of that part,” she said.

She added that she would support proper vetting if it meant her children were safer, and was shocked that this is not already taking place. DM

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Vetting gaps exposed

Limited screening

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