Editorial: Fix transport crisis

Since Saturday, learners have been reporting back to school for third term. As a result, taxi parks, especially Nyabugogo have been unusually overwhelmed. During a survey by Education Times over the past few days, some frustrated students said they had been trying to find a bus for two days in vain. A few lucky ones had been booked for the 5p.m bus meaning they would reach the nearest trading centre to their school around 7p.m and reach their final destination 30 minutes or an hour later in the dark. When this paper talked to the transporters, they argued that the reason for the mess was the lack of proper planning by the government. They blamed the Ministry of Education for designating only two days to the reporting exercise and proposed the period be doubled. On the other hand, the ministry accuses parents of not adhering to the timetable and insisting on sending their children back to school at the eleventh hour, thus disrupting the process. An interaction with learners, parents, ministry officials, teachers and transporters reveals that no party is happy about what happened in these last few days. However, each stakeholder blames the other for the confusion which won’t produce solutions. What is important now is for the key actors to sit down together, go back to the drawing board and come up with a more comprehensive plan to avert a similar situation in the future.