Ondo state government has been charged to reintroduce the free shuttle buses for students in secondary schools to cushion the hardship being experienced by their parents across the 18 local government areas of the state.
The state Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Hon. Stephen Adewale made the call in a statement made available to the media.
The party had observed the plight of the parents in providing daily transportation funds for their children due to the unjust hardship imposed on the populace by the APC-led Federal Government.
“We recall that the previous administration introduced the free bus shuttle scheme and ran it unfettered for nearly eight years in the state’s major cities and towns.”
“Everyday, the buses took the students to and from specific bus stations in the towns and cities.”
” However, as soon as classes started for the second term of the 2019/2020 academic year, Governor Akeredolu’s administration abruptly stopped operating the buses without providing any justification.” It stated.
According to the party, No explanation was provided until June 2022 when Special Adviser on Transport to Governor Akeredolu declared that the free school shuttle bus programme had been discontinued because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“Now that COVID-19 is history and parents all over Ondo State are bearing the brunt of the economic hardship caused by the APC, it is time to bring the free buses back into the system.” It advised.
It noted that the free shuttle buses reduced the amount parents spent on their children’s transportation saying that it time to reintroduce the shuttle buses to help with transportation of children of impoverished parents from various intersections across the state to lessen the pain of such families and to curb truancy.
It will further address absenteeism among students, especially those who may be trekking to school and chose heading to other places instead of attending class.
Many pupils whose parents cannot afford daily transportation may drop out of school as a result of the continued economic difficulties being faced throughout the state.
Reintroducing the free shuttle buses it further expressed would not only ensure that no student dropped out of school due to lack of transportation funds, but help save our state’s promising teenagers who are vulnerable to influence from bad friends and peers.
The fact that the buses will pick them in the morning and drop them off after school at intersections close to their homes will reduce the rate of being influenced by their peers and other undesirable groups.
The free shuttle buses will limit the time they spend alone and exposed to dangerous students’ influence and will also lessen the risk that students who commute to and from school on motorbikes or tricycles encounter.
It declared that the scheme is necessary as a social intervention programme designed to free parents and guardians from their daily struggle of meeting their responsibilities to their children.
It however challenged the State Government to resume operation of the school buses as it also called on the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chapter in Ondo State, and other interested parties to pressure the government to take all necessary steps to ease the stress and hardship experienced by parents who pay through the nose to transport their children to school.
While praying for the recovery of Governor Akeredolu, the Social Democratic Party acknowledged the press statement issued by the ruling APC where it attacked the position adopted by the SDP and congratulated the ruling party for waking up from its inertia.
It advised Ondo APC to join in pressuring their elected officials to reinstate the free school shuttle buses in order to lessen the suffering of the good people of Ondo State who twice voted for APC party in the state, rather than writing a flippant press statement to obscure the obvious.
