Criminals steal from special school

Tsakani – Matshidiso Special School was recently stripped of vital medical and educational equipment by criminals.

The damage was only identified on Monday morning when the teachers went to the school to prepare for the new school calendar.

It is unknown when the criminals forced their way into the school. The school clinic, kitchen, bakery, and six classrooms were broken into and resources were stolen.

The criminals accessed the school by breaking a wall that led into the kitchen. This way, they avoided the beams that activate the alarm system. In one classroom, they entered through the ceiling.

School principal Thapelo Tshetlo said he suspects the criminals knew where the important resources were because they broke into classrooms where there were valuables.

The long list of essential items stolen includes the school clinic’s emergency equipment like nebulisers, oxygen cylinders, blood pressure machines and machines used for blood glucose.

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In the kitchen, two stoves were stolen. One of the stoves was found abandoned along the school’s security fence, buried under the long grass.

Tshetlo added that the clinic is the backbone of the school because it lets them attend to medical emergencies when a learner is in need.

“We cater for learners with special needs. Some faint, bleed and have convulsions, and that is where the centre comes in.

“How will we cater for their needs when some of the medical equipment and medication has been stolen?” he asked.

Tshetlo added that the school had experienced a series of burglaries over the past three years. He urges residents to help to protect the school from criminals.

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“We cannot afford to have the resources that we use for their skills training stolen and replaced every year. This prohibits us from buying new equipment to improve the school.”

Chairperson of the School Governing Body, Josias Hlambisse, asked that those in the community who have information about the perpetrators or see anyone selling any of the stolen items, report it to the police.

“We need to join hands in fighting criminality in our community,” he said.

Tsakani Police spokesperson Sergeant Lerato Mngomezulu confirmed that they are investigating a case of a business burglary.

“No arrests have been made, and we call on anyone with information to come forward,” she said.