High school ‘IT robbery’ says it all

IT’S DIFFICULT to believe the trauma experienced by the pupils at Edenvale High School this week. They had to hide under their desks as a group of would-be robbers tried to break into the school and steal money from the office.

Thanks to the alertness of the principal and school management – as well as the rapid response of the police – the robbery was foiled. Two of the robbers were shot dead at the scene, a third wounded, while the fourth escaped.

Now Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi is being asked to give an account about what more the department can do to stop these attacks. It’s a good question – and one he shouldn’t have to answer.

The school had more than adequate security, it was foiled by someone posing as a parent and the second car tailgating the first.

Are we to blame Lesufi, too, for doing his best to increase resources at schools like providing IT equipment and then claim the schools are soft targets for criminals?

It is not just a nonsensical argument, it’s one that Lesufi can never be expected to win.

Let’s hold him accountable for what he’s supposed to do – like providing schools, paying teachers and doing his utmost to ensure that classrooms create the next generation of this nation’s adults.

The police were there on time. They did their job too; the corpses in the parking lot tell that story all too well.

So who should we blame? The truth is we must blame ourselves.

If there were no market for stolen goods, the computers wouldn’t be stolen. If there was no tolerance for crime, no blind eyes or deaf ears, those who break the law would be quickly arrested and punished – anyone else thinking of committing crimes swiftly dissuaded.

It’s easier though to point fingers and imprison our children in their classrooms – for their safety.