SHAME ON YOU

The schools will have to fork out thousands of rands they do not have to repair the damage and replace stolen equipment – costs that were not budgeted for.

The criminals ransacked a number of schools during the three-week holiday and stole everything they could get their hands on – from fire extinguishers to aluminium window frames, toilets and hand basins.

According to the principals, the schools are seen as soft targets as they cannot afford guards or expensive security measures.

The constant vandalism and burglaries have demoralised some principals, who say they feel hopeless and despondent.

Authorities have called on communities to take ownership of their schools and safeguard them.

Sanctor Primary acting principal Greg McCullum said the school had suffered a spate of burglaries during the holidays and he had repeatedly been woken up in the early hours to be informed of a break-in.

“I have developed an internal clock and am now awake before my phone even rings,” he said.

“I get calls from ADT around 1am or 2am every other day informing me that the alarm has been tripped.

“The classrooms do not have burglar bars and many windows are now missing, while we have no real money to fix anything before the children come back.

“We are already paying seven staff members, so there is nothing left.”

McCullum said the vandals had stolen nothing of much value, having taken mainly stationery, as well as scattering papers across floors.

“I think they are breaking in simply to smoke their drugs there,” he said.

“The school is a soft target with easy access and people are smoking mandrax and tik.

“They are now breaking the chipboard in one classroom to get to the test tubes and Bunsen burners in the science lab so they can use these to smoke.

“This form of vandalism is a sign of the social and moral decay in our communities and people have become blinded to it,” McCullum said.

Parkside Primary principal Penny Barry said the school had suffered R5 000 in damage last week when a cubicle reserved for an unemployed parent to stay at the school for security purposes had been burgled and vandalised.

“We were trying to get a parent to stay there to secure the property,” Barry said.

“They broke in and stole the hand-basin, the toilet and the pipes.

“This is a common occurrence during the school holidays and, as a principal, it is tiring and disheartening. You need to be vigilant at all times.

“You are worried about someone, like any parent watching the school, getting hurt, and you cannot relax or rest during the holiday,” Barry said.

Bethvale Primary School governing body chairman Richard Draai said the school had experienced a string of break-ins and these had escalated during the holidays.

He said two 2 000-litre water tanks had been stolen as well as electrical cables and light fittings.

Draai, who is also the Northern Areas Education Forum secretary, said a section of fencing at the school had also been taken. “Schools have so many problems already and no one has the money to fix this damage, so when children return next week this damage will still be there,” Draai said.

“One time, the police caught a man and a woman red-handed but they were let go.

“I spoke to the station commander, who said they would increase patrols, but this has not happened.”

Qaphelani Senior Secondary acting principal Nomawethu Stemele said criminals had targeted the administration block and stolen four computers.

“It will cost thousands to replace those computers because they were flat-screens and were new,” she said.

“They had all our schoolwork for the year on them and now we have nothing.”

Stemele said the school had been vandalised and burgled often and she had changed security companies, but this had not helped.

“The police came to take fingerprints, but have not reported back,” she said. No case number had been allocated.

Stemele also complained that the school’s security company was slow to respond.

“We have a caretaker, but he cannot defend the school against criminals because he is not armed,” she said.

Cowan High School principal Trevor Dolley said three classrooms and the school’s nutrition storeroom had been vandalised.

He said windows had been broken, door handles damaged and ceilings vandalised.

“They [vandals] did not take anything of value,” he said. “It is simply their destructive nature that caused this.

“But in terms of fixing damage, we are on a very limited budget so the challenge is huge.

“You try to build up and up, but then this happens and you are back to square one again.

“We are serving the poorest of the poor, so we cannot afford expensive security measures.”

Dolley said he would have a meeting with the school management and governing bodies to devise a new strategy. Cowan High caretaker Andile Mlambo said he suspected the involvement of certain residents living near the school.

“They go through the fences behind the school and the people who live there see the whole thing but keep quiet,” he said.

Provincial Department of Education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said: “Schools are the centre of community life and these communities must play a meaningful role.

“Even if you have two or 10 security guards, vandalism can still occur.

“This is why communities must take ownership of our schools and safeguard them from these acts of vandalism.

“If our communities continue to harbour these criminals, this vandalism will continue,” Mtima said.

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said Gelvandale police had received four reports of malicious damage to property since May 1 from schools in their area of responsibility.

Bethelsdorp police station had received three.

“If schools are concerned about suspects being released, they should take their case number and inquire about the circumstances with the investigating officers,” Naidu said.

Constable Mncedi Mbombo confirmed that Cowan High and Qaphelani Senior Secondary had opened cases of housebreaking and theft. – Additional reporting by Siyamtanda Capa