Bongani Hans
Durban - Rampant theft at Mzuvele High School in KwaMashu, north of Durban, has brought learning to a halt as fed-up teachers find it impossible to do their work.
Since 2002 criminals have been breaking into the school, which has an alarm system, and helping themselves to anything they can lay their hands on. The situation became untenable after the latest theft last month.
Teachers and pupils expressed fears that the school, which has 1 191 pupils, might be forced to close.
The Mercury is in possession of a list of 13 theft incidents that have occurred in the past 14 years. Ten were reported to police, but no one has been convicted.
Learning has continued, but when the teachers and pupils returned from the Easter holidays they could not even use the toilets because pipes had been stolen in the male and female toilets.
School governing body secretary Lungile Mthimkhulu said the school would hold an urgent meeting on Thursday with parents, the pupils’ representative body, education officials and teachers to discuss solutions to the problem.
“Since the schools were opened there has been little learning as we had to leave in the morning to use toilets at home,” said Grade 12 pupil Andile Ngwenya.
On Tuesday and Wednesday pupils were seen going home at 11am.
The school is close to the KwaMashu Station shopping mall, where crime is said to be rife. Hundreds of young people could be seen loitering around the station and taking drugs in broad daylight.
As The Mercury team was driving through the busy mall area to the school, it saw a group of young men opening the back of a delivery van and taking out two boxes before disappearing into the busy taxi rank.
The young people, popularly known as feranjis (thugs), are suspected of being behind break-ins at the school.
The break-ins have cost the school lots of electronic equipment, including 30 computers which had been donated by a school in Leeds, Britain.
“We had been using the computers for research,” said Ngwenya.
Other stolen items include microwaves, stationery, microscopes, fridges, stamps, fans, toilet paper, copier/fax machines, Melodyhorn music instrument, and sports jerseys. They have not only stolen copper pipes, electricity wires, telephone lines and corrugated roofing sheets - but in the latest incident took toilets, water pipes, tools, bricks and the fence .
An unarmed security guard works only day shift. Security has been tightened at the principal’s office with burglar guards installed on the roof, as criminals would remove the roof sheeting and jump into the office.
Mthimkhulu said despite security measures, the break-ins continued.
“They would break down burglar guards, doors and windows and even steal them,” she said.
Mthimkhulu is also a science teacher at the school. She said her lessons had become impractical after equipment had been stolen. Criminals had broken down a wall using hammers.
“I don’t have science textbooks because they were stolen. Even the art classroom has been broken into many times,” she said.
The school’s matrics scored only a 39% pass rate last year.
“Only 15% of my science pupils passed,” she said, adding that staff and pupils were demoralised.
While The Mercury was at the school, employees of the eThekwini Municipality were busy working on a project.
“We are replacing all copper pipes with plastic in all schools around Durban in order to stop theft,” said a city employee.
School caretaker Busi Mnguni, who lives on the premises, said she had helplessly witnessed young people breaking in.
“Sometimes I hear them at night sawing burglar guards or smashing walls with hammers, but I stay in bed because there is nothing I can do. During holidays I saw four men in daylight pushing wheelbarrows loaded with doors, windows and water pipes which they had stolen from the school.”
The school is surrounded by houses, and nearby streets are busy with pedestrians and traffic, but nothing scares the criminals.
“Even if we call meetings to talk about this, only a few parents attend. No one seems to care,” said Mthimkhulu.
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Peggy Nkonyeni’s spokesman Scelo Khuzwayo said there was hope that learning would return to normal once pipes were replaced in the toilets.
“We are very disappointed with whoever is responsible for the break-ins because this affects learning and teaching.”
He said there were plans to provide the school with 24-hour security guards, but could not say when that would happen.
He said the school could approach the department for the replacement of stolen items.
Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said four men were arrested in 2003 and 2009, but the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court withdrew the cases against them because of a lack of evidence.
“These cases can be reopened if new evidence surfaces,” said Zwane.
The Mercury