Responding to the Department of Education’s announced review of the current home to school transport policy, TUV Leader Jim Allister MLA has stressed the importance of such provision, in particular for rural areas:
“The current home to school transport policy, while often rigid and slow to react to individual circumstances, is of essential importance to many families across Northern Ireland where access to their nearest school can be difficult. This is most acute in rural areas, where the distances involved can be significant, and the lack of infrastructure such as footpaths can pose a very real danger to pupils and their families in undertaking a journey on foot or bicycle to school.
“Provision should not be reduced or modified purely based on the cost, but should be provided on the basis of need. The Department and Education Authority need to be pro-active in responding to the concerns and needs of parents and take decisions in a timely manner.
“Before the Department thinks about taking such punitive action against parents and pupils perhaps it would better employed addressing its expenditure demands by asking itself why the Education Authority needs 22 Assistant Directors within its ever growing administrative empire.
“To my mind getting our children safely to school is a far stronger priority than empire building within the Education Authority.
“I would urge all parents and schools to ensure that they are vigorously heard on this issue so that the Department is dissuaded from this anti-education step of diminishing school transport.”
Note to Editor
Please find below a copy of Jim Allister MLA’s letter to Mr Derek Baker, Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education:
Dear Permanent Secretary
Re: Questionnaire on Home to School Transport Policy
I am writing in response to the Department’s questionnaire on the future of home to school transport provision.
Home to school transport provision, and the continuing funding of such, is of essential importance to pupils and their families across Northern Ireland. In particular, such provision in rural areas is depended upon in order for pupils to be able to safely access their education. As I am sure you are aware, many rural areas do not have footpaths on which pupils could safely walk, and the roads are such that cycling to school poses a very real danger.
I am concerned that the direction of travel from the Department is one of cost-saving above all else. Provision should not be reduced or modified purely based on cost, but should be provided on the basis of need. If anything, the Department and Education Authority need to be more flexible in their application of the transport policy where exceptional circumstances exist.
Before the Department thinks about taking such punitive action against parents and pupils perhaps it would be better employed addressing its expenditure demands by asking itself why the Education Authority needs 22 Assistant Directors within its ever growing administrative empire.
To my mind getting our children safely to school is a far stronger priority than empire building within the Education Authority.
I would urge the Department to tread very carefully where the safety of children is concerned.
Yours Sincerely
Jim Allister MLA