As schools across KwaZulu-Natal and the rest of the country prepare to welcome back learners, a number of them will have to make alternative arrangements to allow learning to resume after 139 schools were vandalised and robbed during the mid-July unrest in the province.
Education MEC, Kwazi Mshengu, was out and about last week in uMlazi assessing the damage left behind by the looters and protesters who turned to robbing schools in their trail of destruction. Schools in the south of Durban, under the uMlazi District, were among the hardest hit. Following his assessment of Bavumile Primary School in P-Section, uMlazi, Mshengu said he was alarmed as he believed that the suspects had inside help as they knew which sections to target. “The criminals clearly had intimate information about the school because they knew where to go to get what they wanted.”
Mshengu said the criminals gained access to the store room after punching a hole through the wall. They stole 18 laptops, the school soccer kits and other essential items. He called on the community to intervene and assist with information that might aid the apprehension of the suspects. “We are really making a call to the communities to give us the necessary information. The community should really start sending a message that nobody should take advantage of our schools and that we need to protect them, as this will deter the criminals. The community should also avoid buying the stolen goods and laptops.” Mshengu said following the premature closure of all learning facilities due to Covid-19, the Department is also looking to double-down on learning as primary schools are expected to get back to full-time learning on 2 August. Matric learners are also expected to resume full-time learning. He said the class of 2021 are among the hardest hit by the disruptions. “Covid-19 has made things really difficult as the class of 2021 is the most disadvantaged when compared with the class of 2020. They were affected in Grade 11 during the hard lockdown and once again in Grade 12, therefore they need more time in class. We need to soldier on.”
