
There are about 15.4-million school-going children in South Africa and almost two-thirds of them have to walk to school every day, according to Statistics South Africa’s 2023 General Household Survey.
Often these learners have to navigate difficult terrain, which leaves them vulnerable to harsh weather conditions and violence.
The Household Survey report doesn’t say how long it takes these learners to walk to school, but an analysis of the 2022 survey results by Children Count, an advocacy project of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town, has data on the length of school trips irrespective of how learners travel.
It shows that fewer learners are walking (65%) to school than in 2010 (73%).
The percentage of primary and high school learners taking longer than 30 minutes to get to school has decreased by about 3 percentage points since 2010.
Often these learners have to navigate difficult terrain, which leaves them vulnerable to harsh weather conditions and violence.
The Household Survey report doesn’t say how long it takes these learners to walk to school, but an analysis of the 2022 survey results by Children Count, an advocacy project of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town, has data on the length of school trips irrespective of how learners travel.
It shows that fewer learners are walking (65%) to school than in 2010 (73%).
The percentage of primary and high school learners taking longer than 30 minutes to get to school has decreased by about 3 percentage points since 2010.