Incidents of burglary and vandalism at Western Cape schools over the holidays have steadily been decreasing over the past three years, says Education MEC Debbie Schäfer.
The number of incidents has declined consistently from 41 during the 2013/14 school holidays, to 32 in 2014/15, to 21 in 2015/16, to just 17 this past holidays.
“At the start of every school year, one of my main concerns is that teachers and learners will arrive at a school that has been badly vandalised or burgled during the December school holiday,” she said.
“For this reason, during the December 2016/ January 2017 school holiday period, the WCED deployed additional security to schools that were identified as high risk.”
Schäfer attributed the crime drop to heightened security measures implemented at high-risk schools, along with communities helping to look after schools.
Most of the incidents were classified as minor, meaning the cost of repairs was below R250 000.
However, Uitsig High School once again suffered major damage.
“Security guards at the school were reportedly stoned and threatened with guns. As a result, water pipes and electrical cables were damaged and / or stolen, putting the school in a situation where it cannot function,” said Schäfer.
She said in most cases perpetrators steal copper piping and electrical cables, while in other cases cooking utensils and food were stolen from feeding scheme kitchens.
“So far, the cost for repairs for 14 of the 17 schools has come in at just under R250 000. While I am pleased that the incidents were mostly classified as ‘minor’, we could better spend these funds on improving the quality of education in schools,” said Schäfer.
“At the end of the day, vandalism represents theft from our learners.”