Learners left without critical education resources as over R2 million lost in burglaries, vandalism and theft in Gauteng
26 August 2021
School children in Gauteng are being left without critical educational resources as schools have lost over R2 million due to vandalism, burglaries and theft leaving our children. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is shocked to learn that 1 231 cases have been opened by Gauteng schools since 2020 to date.
It is concerning that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) continues to lose millions in theft, burglaries, and vandalism of schools while not much is being done to safeguard assets. GDE and the Department of Community Safety have dismally failed to prevent such incidents of vandalism, theft, and burglaries in our schools.
This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
According to MEC Mazibuko, the schools in Gauteng have opened 1 231 cases of vandalism, theft, and burglaries.
Of these cases reported, 300 suspects were arrested in 147 cases and only 34 cases resulted in the conviction of 37 accused persons.
It is very worrying that there are low arrest and conviction rates despite the high number of cases reported.
This means that no arrests were made in 1 084 cases and 1 197 cases did not make it to the court row.
The department’s school’s safety strategy is ineffective, and it is evident through the number of cases reported. This is a clear indication that the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) is also failing to prioritise school safety with adequate police visibility.
Furthermore, the department has lost R2 225 611.00 on these incidents of vandalism, theft, and burglaries in our schools. This money could be used to eradicate asbestos schools and fix deteriorating infrastructure across the province to ensure a conducive learning and safe teaching environment.
Untrained and unarmed school safety patrollers alone will not be able to safeguard our valuable school's assets. There is a need for community members to take ownership of the schools and for the department to explore the feasibility of employing permanent security guards to safeguard schools, particularly in areas that have a high crime rate.
In addition, DA proposals such as the installation of fences or walls surrounding schools, installation of CCTV cameras and alarm systems in hotspot schools linked to the nearest police stations would make a profound difference in preventing such incidents from happening again.
MEC Mazibuko must also liaise with the Gauteng SAPS Commissioner, Lieutenant General, Elias Mawela to provide an update with regards to the SAPS intelligence unit investigating the syndicates that are involved in vandalism, theft and burglary of our schools so that the perpetrators can be apprehended and there is a stop to this criminal element.
Schools are precious resources and harming a school is harming the future of our children and the future of their generation.
Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 26 August 2021
