A total of 110 schools – at least two in Mamelodi – have been burgled in the province this year, while more than 20 teachers and pupils have been robbed in and around schools in Pretoria.
Crime at schools has prompted the Gauteng education department to deploy armed and unarmed security guards at identified vulnerable high-risk schools.
The department was in the final stages of procuring CCTV monitoring systems to be installed at key strategic points at schools.
The department confirmed that in Mamelodi, Stanza Bopape Secondary and Vukuzenzele Higher Primary schools were among the schools burgled.
Democratic Alliance (DA) constituency head for Centurion, Solly Msimanga said he directed questions to the department after two girls fell victim to armed robbers and were held up at gunpoint near a school in Valhalla at the start of the matric exams.
“The principal informed me that similar incidents had happened twice in less than two weeks.”
Msimanga said this had prompted him to question the department, who responded by saying at least 110 schools in the province had been the target of burglaries in 2014 so far.
“Some 22 pupils and teachers were robbed in the vicinity of their school premises during the same period.”
Msimanga said the greatest concern was that the education department could put no monetary value to the goods, mainly electronic and other expensive equipment, that were stolen.
“The department claims to still be collating the rand value of the equipment stolen during these burglaries. This clearly means that the stolen equipment was not insured and that no insurance claims were submitted,” he said.
The situation left schools without the necessary tools for proper education, as well as additional costs.
He said the department failed to give any clarity on what was being done to prevent crime at schools.
“They indicated that they had a plan to combat this disturbing crime trend with extra patrollers and the installation of CCTVs at high-risk schools. However, little appears to have been done in response to so many schools being targeted over the course of one year.”
Education spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane said the department was concerned.
“The department has deployed patrollers in all no-fees schools and armed and unarmed security guards at identified vulnerable high-risk schools,” she said.
“We are in the process of finalising the ICT equipment strategy, which will include the procurement of CCTV monitoring systems and the installation thereof at strategic points such as laboratories, administration blocks and in parking areas.”
Sekhonyane said the system would be directly linked to the local police, who would be alerted should there be any unauthorised or forced entry. The department had also assigned a police officer from the local police to each school and had given the additional support of a police sector vehicle to precincts.
Msimanga said as the year was now drawing to a close, the education department’s plans were too little, too late for many of the victims.
The public wanted details on the security plans, how many new patrollers would be deployed, and where and when they would be on duty, he said.
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