Gauteng community safety head of department Roche Mogorosi spoke on the arrest of seven East Bank High School learners after a fire broke out on the Alexandra school’s premises earlier this month, saying the disciplinary breakdown behind the incident could not go unanswered.

Mogorosi confirmed the arrests during a SAPS–led schools search operation in Alexandra on August 19, noting that the department could not allow learners who damaged state property to be seen by their peers as having faced no consequences. Ill–discipline of that kind, he said, had to be addressed.

Read more: Four life sentences for arsonist, murderer

His comments come as the department deals with the fallout from the August 11 fire, which broke out at an already severely overcrowded school. A case of malicious damage to property was subsequently opened after the fire. According to Mogorosi, the matter was under investigation, but no arrests had yet been made. That changed on August 19, when the seven learners linked to the incident were taken to the police station.

The incident occurred amid infrastructure shortages at the school. East Bank High was designed to hold around 1 200 learners, but it currently accommodates 2 064, according to Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation Lebogang Maile. The school has a shortage of roughly 1 200 desks and 600 chairs. Alex News previously revealed that some learners were sitting on the floor with books on their laps, while others were in classrooms with broken windows and doors.

It was against this backdrop that learners, complaining of cold conditions and broken windows, allegedly set old school furniture alight. Maile condemned the incident and pointed out that the department had already tried to prevent it. He said a weather alert, issued in advance, had specifically warned learners against lighting fires on school premises. “We foresaw this risk and we take serious exception to this kind of criminality.”

Also read: Dead arsonist investigated for attempted murder

Maile added that, at the beginning of the year, the school’s windows were intact, but now about 60 need to be repaired. “There is absolutely no excuse for destroying scarce education resources or disrupting teaching and learning.”

The Alexandra parliamentary constituency officer also condemned the incident, stressing that the school has little room to absorb further losses. “At a time when East Bank is already overcrowded, we cannot afford to lose even one desk or one chair. Let us choose discipline, dialogue, and respect for learning,” said member of the provincial legislature responsible for Alexandra Ntsako Mogobe.

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates!