Cape Town – On average, two schools are burgled or vandalised every day in the province.
While in the first six months of this year, 471 schools have been hit by thugs, up from the recorded 395 schools burgled and vandalised over the same period last year.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer announced the statistics yesterday and said schools with security guards were also victims of crime.
Of the 42 schools vandalised this past school holiday, 24 schools were provided with holiday security.
“This is appalling. As a department we obviously have a role to play and are providing schools with security measures such as fencing, burglar bars, security gates and alarms, within very tight budget constraints.
“The Western Cape Education Department also provides 24-hour security at selected schools. This is extremely costly and it’s not always possible to predict where or when an incident will occur,” Schäfer said.
Equal Education meanwhile said for as long as the department does not prioritise and take active steps to ensure adequate safety infrastructure at all public schools, the number of schools being burgled and vandalised will continue to rise.
Equal Education researcher Stacey Jacobs said after relentlessly campaigning for the release of the provincial Norms and Standards progress report, the department eventually released their December 2018 Strategy for the Elimination of Public School Infrastructure Backlogs.
“While the strategy addresses fencing, it completely disregards burglar-proofing, security guard arrangements and installation of alarm systems all which are important for a safe learning and teaching environment.
"While MEC Schäfer continues to ignore this law, pupils across the province and particularly those in disadvantaged areas continue to be vulnerable to safety threats,” Jacobs said.
This comes as Nomsa Maphongwana Primary in Khayelitsha was targeted by three armed men who made off with six school laptops, cellphones and wallets of more than 31 staff members of the school last week.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said a case of armed robbery was under investigation.
Disgruntled parents staged a protest at the school, saying the facility had no CCTV cameras, the school fence was more than 28 years old and they needed security guards.