Increased security at schools and working closely with the police have paid off as the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) reports a significant decrease in vandalism and theft at schools during the summer holidays.
“The number of incidents of burglary and vandalism which occurred at Western Cape schools over the 2025/26 summer school holiday has decreased significantly, with 36 incidents reported by 32 schools.
“This is a marked decrease compared to the 47 incidents reported by 34 schools during the 2024/25 summer holidays, demonstrating more effective target hardening and monitoring of school properties,” said Minister David Maynier in a statement.
The department said that it subsidised holiday security at 441 schools to increase vigilance. In the 36 incidents of theft or vandalism, fencing, electrical cables, plumbing fixtures in kitchens and food meant for learners were stolen.
“In one particularly alarming incident, over 100 windows at a school were deliberately damaged – a act of senseless criminality,” said Maynier.
The department said it would not release the names or locations of the schools for security reasons.
“Every single item that is damaged or stolen must be replaced, which diverts funding from the core task of educating our learners so that they can so that get a job or study further when they leave school. Stealing from a school is stealing from a child’s future,” he said.
The department encouraged school communities to thwart the efforts of vandals and thieves by staying vigilant and keeping an eye on schools in their neighbourhoods. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the police or to the Safe Schools hotline immediately on 0800 45 46 47.
The provincial education department announced last year that it would spend more than R5 million to protect schools in the province. The cost of repairing damage done by vandals, was estimated to be more than R1 million, the department said in August 2025.
