North West High School Burgled for 5th Time, Damages Cost Education Department Close to R1 Million

• The Department of Basic Education has spent close to R1 million repairing a North West school that has been constantly burgled
• The recent theft at Tirelong Secondary School took place over the December school holidays, making it the fifth hit by criminals
• South Africans think the constant thefts at the school can only be inside jobs and believe the community must be involved

RUSTENBURG - A North West school has been vandalised and broken into for the fifth time since March 2020. The Department of Basic Education has had to spend close to R1 million to repair and renovate the school since the first hit.

The criminals managed to steal almost everything, from windows frames, roofs, electricity cables, taps and doors to kitchen utensils.

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The recent robbery at Tirelong Secondary School took place during the December holidays. The Department of Education in the North West has been left in despair because the school will not be able to accommodate pupils who are set to return to school on Wednesday, 12 January, 2022, according to TimesLIVE.

The department has made a decision to relocate pupils to different schools because there is no water or electricity at the school.

Mmaphefo Matsemela, MEC of Education in the province, says the department and a local mine have been renovating and preparing the schools since the first attack, however, criminals have been relentless in their theft, according to News24.

Matsemela says the department will not allow criminals to rob pupils of their Constitutional right to education.

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South Africans think the community knows who the criminals are

On social media, South Africans have shared their thoughts on the school robbery. Some people think there is a tender scheme going on while others think the criminals are within the community. Here are some comments:

@Oupa14684233 said:

"Criminality is right inside the community.I bet my last cent if we were to walk around the same community will find some of the building materials from the school. Some communities buy stolen items and give market to criminals."

@kruts said:

"Communities should start looking after their own."

@TimGift3 said:

"More than 5 times? And yet there's an SGB in that school. I smell a rat in that SGB and it must be investigated together with the principal of that school. Doesn't the school have a security company guarding the school?"

@PenelopePennyT2 said:

"Let the parents and the community do the repairs because it's being damaged deliberately by the people they know. DBE should ignore their complaints. Our people should respect school property. This is utter nonsense and criminal behaviour."

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@Mphoza26633019 said:

"What happened to investigative journalism, reporting gossip, I mean something is definitely going on there.Who's getting those contracts, and how does the department keep spending money without any prevention measures? No way the community doesn't know the thieves."

Panyaza Lesufi shares disgraceful photos after thugs burgle school

In other similar news, Briefly News previously reported that the MEC for Education and Youth Development in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, shared a shocking and heartbreaking post on Twitter showing photos of a terrible burglary at Caiphus Nyoka School in the Etwatwa township.

Lesufi retweeted a post by local journalist, Yusuf Abramjee, and people from around the country are sharing their thoughts on the dire situation.

The minister captioned the post:

"Stealing the future of your own children. So senseless."

Source: Briefly News