Cape Town - Two weeks after the new school year began, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has revealed they are tallying the damage to infrastructure and loss after 47 schools were burgled during the December and January holiday period, despite security being provided to 480 buildings.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for Education MEC David Maynier, told the Cape Argus they have yet to determine the cost due to the burglary and vandalism.
As schools opened, education watchdogs called for the department to reveal the budget spent on subsidised security, claiming one school in a red zone area such as Delft had spent up to R12 000 to keep schools safe.
Mauchline said 47 incidents were reported during the 2024/25 holiday period, compared to 26 incidents during 2023/24.
“Despite increasing the number of schools where the Western Cape Government subsidised holiday security to 480 schools this year, we have unfortunately seen an increase in cases of burglary and vandalism of our schools during this period,” she explained.
“During the summer holidays, 47 incidents of burglary or vandalism were reported by 34 schools.
“This is a significant increase in incidents from the 26 incidents reported at 24 schools during the same period last year.
“While the majority of incidents were minor in nature, these incidents are costly to schools, both in terms of the cost of replacement and the impact on school functionality.”
She added items damaged or stolen include electrical fixtures, appliances, food for learners, bathroom fixtures, fencing and security equipment, windows and a host of other items.
“It is disappointing that our schools will once again have to allocate time and resources to cover these losses,” she said.
“Our schools are precious community resources, and they must be protected and cared for by all of us.”
She appealed for the public to come forward with information which could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
“We urge the public to keep a close eye on their local schools, and to report suspicious activity in the vicinity of our schools to SAPS or the Safe Schools hotline (0800 45 46 47) immediately.”
Earlier, Vanessa le Roux of Parents for Equal Education called on the department to reveal their annual budget spent on security.
“Every year we have this issue and we need to ask which security companies are employed and how much do they earn,” she said.
Previously, in 2019, the department said they had spent over R50 000 for major incidents of burglary and vandalism and R100 000 for minor incidents during that period.