Small children are being forced to wait for their school bus in pitch darkness two hours before school starts, parents have told Times of Malta, with many pupils having to wake up very early in the morning.
This situation mostly applies to children attending Church and independent schools as the government omitted pick-up and drop-off time limits in its agreement with free transport providers, Times of Malta is informed.
However, parents whose children attend State schools have also complained about early pick-up and late drop-off, noting that transport providers are now forced to take on more students and, so, trips are longer.
One parent told Times of Malta his children, aged six and seven, have to wake up at around 5.30am to wait for a bus to take them from Naxxar to a Gżira Church school. “They leave in pitch darkness and arrive an hour and 15 minutes before school starts,” he said.
Several – including guardians whose children go to State schools – took their complaints to social media, saying they have been asked to take their kids to their pick-up spot 90 minutes before school starts.
One parent said: “Mine starts at 8am and we need to wait from 6.30am. By 8am, I would have said the rosary six times.”
Others complained that they are not only being picked up early but also dropped off at home late. “In the past, they used to be picked up at 6.45am but now they have to be picked up by 6.15am… and while school finishes at 1.30pm, they are still not home by 2.45pm! This is because they are now using 18-seaters, with drivers having to transport more children and, obviously, having a longer route,” one parent said.
Mine starts at 8am and we need to wait from 6.30am. By 8am, I would have said the rosary six times
Another social media user noted it took her children two hours, from 1pm to 3pm, to get from Cospicua to Swatar.
For older students, taking a bus to school, instead of making use of the free transport service, has become impossible, with their guardians complaining of large crowds at bus stops in the morning.
The free transport service is offered to students who attend State, Church and independent schools.
According to the conditions of service provision, students who live within four kilometres of their kindergarten or primary State school should not be picked up earlier than 30 minutes before school starts. This goes up to 45 minutes for those who live between four and 10km away. They should not arrive earlier than 30 minutes before schools starts.
Those attending a middle or secondary State school who live within eight kilometres of the school should not be picked up earlier than an hour before while those who live more than eight kilometres away should not be picked up 90 minutes before school starts. They should not arrive earlier than one hour before school starts.
However, Times of Malta is informed that when the government signed an agreement for the free transport service for students attending Church and independent schools, these conditions were left out.
Questions sent to the education ministry on September 27 remained unanswered by the time the newspaper went to print.
The ministry was asked why such conditions were omitted for Church and independent schools and whether the government was planning any changes.