A total of 417 schools received holiday security from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) over the June/July school holidays.
Minister of Education David Maynier says 42 schools have reported incidents of vandalism and burglary during this period.
“This is a small increase compared to the same holidays last year, when 38 schools reported incidents,” he said. “On the West Coast one school was vandalised.”
Maynier says fortunately almost all the incidents were minor in nature. Items stolen or damaged included bathroom fixtures, fencing, solar panels, consumables, such as stationery and cleaning materials, tablets and ICT equipment, security and electrical equipment, and bicycles. Criminals even looted packs of sanitary pads and first aid kits.
The minister stated one major incident involved damages estimated at over R121 000.
“The total cost of all the incidents is currently estimated at R808 600, with estimates for some of the incidents still outstanding,” he said. “That means nearly a million rand that could have been spent on educating our learners now must be spent on fixing wanton damage.”
Maynier said one particular concern is some of the schools that have fallen prey to crime over the holidays had security guards, cameras and other security features in place. “We need to understand better what our schools need, to ensure they are safe from criminal attacks. Community participation plays a pivotal role in keeping our schools safe.”
He said the schools had reported the cases to the police and that he would seek a meeting with the provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile, to discuss progress on these and previous cases.
