R2.2m spent to fix Gauteng schools

Damage caused by vandalism, theft

There is more than R2.2m of tax payers money that has been used for repairs following incidents of vandalism, theft and burglaries at Gauteng schools.

This was revealed by Faith Mazibuko, the MEC for community safety, in a written reply to questions tabled by DA in the Gauteng legislature.

Mazibuko said there were 1,231 cases of school burglaries, vandalism and theft that had been reported from last year to date.

“There are 300 suspects that were arrested in 147 cases and only 34 cases resulted in the conviction of 37 accused suspects.

This was as a result of the well-trained and experienced officers assigned to deal with such cases,” Mazibuko said.

Mazibuko said crime intelligence was involved in gathering intelligence with regards to school safety.

Meanwhile, the department had also implemented some programmes to prevent this ongoing problem.

“Among other things, schools are linked to local police stations and we also have adopt a cop programme. Schools that experience constant challenges are identified and prioritised for interventions.

“There are also awareness campaigns that are conducted regularly to create awareness on identified challenges and promote information sharing with learners and educators,” she said.

DA Gauteng shadow MEC for education Khume Ramulifho said it was worrying that pupils were being left without critical educational resources as schools had lost more than R2m on vandalism, burglaries and theft.

“The Gauteng education together with the department of community safety have dismally failed to prevent these incidents.

It is also worrying that there are low arrest and conviction rates despite the high number of reported cases,” Ramulifho said.

He said untrained and unarmed school safety patrollers alone will not be able to safeguard the school 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,” Ramulifho said.