[Photo: PECELI NAVITICOKO]

Lalakoro residents in Seaqaqa are urging authorities to intervene after a Rural Services Licence (RSL) operator left students in the area without reliable transportation.

Parent Zibran Hussein says the issue affects 10 students attending Vunimanuca Primary School, who are now risking their lives by travelling on cane trucks to reach the school, located about three kilometres away.

While 26 students from surrounding communities continue to receive RSL services, those in Lalakoro remain excluded, raising serious concerns over child safety and unequal access to education.

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“The main issue for us here in Lalakoro is that the RSL is not picking up our students. Now we have to take them on a cane truck, and it’s always a risk if something happens to them. We don’t have a car, only a cane truck, so the students sit at the back.”

Hussein adds that with the new school year underway, an urgent solution is needed to ensure children can travel to school safely.

Another parent, Ilisabeta Wati, says allowing children to walk long distances through cane fields and farming areas is dangerous and hopes RSL services can resume soon.

“It’s quite a distance from here to the school, and it is surrounded by cane fields. If I let them walk, there is always that fear that something could happen to them, so sometimes it’s better not to send them to school.”

FBC News understands the RSL operator ceased servicing Lalakoro after parents complained that their children were waiting nearly two hours daily for pickup.

The delay is reportedly due to the operator servicing six other communities along the same route. The Ministry of Education’s Transport Officer has referred the matter to the Land Transport Authority; however, a new operator can only be appointed once the current license for the area is surrendered.

FBC News has also sought comment from LTA.

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