Garlandale Primary School in Athlone, Cape Town, has been ransacked for the second time in less than a month after thieves broke in and stole equipment meant to be used in the refurbished library.
The break-in came just days before the school will reopen for the 2023 academic year.
Western Cape education department (WCED) spokesperson Unathi Booi said during the latest incident a week ago the school’s library was broken into, and lights stolen.
“A previous burglary took place during… December, when tools used to upgrade the library were stolen, and wiring was vandalised. These incidents are a setback to the school’s efforts to refurbish the library for the benefit of the learners,” Booi added.
“Police are investigating a break-in following a burglary at a school in Athlone,” said police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg. “No arrests have been made [and] the investigation continues.”
The Garlandale Action group, which comprises the schools’ alumni, was formed to support the school where needed and to raise funds. The group lambasted the criminals who “stole the learners’ right to further their education”.
Chairperson Errol Thompson told News24 the damage to the school for both break-ins could set them back about R70 000, money which he said was “already difficult to get”. Thompson said the criminals gained access to the building by breaking the burglar bars of a window.
“What these criminals did was barbaric and cruel; they have stolen the learners’ right to learn. We worked hard to get the infrastructure of the library going so that it does not have to look like an abandoned building. We even managed to get donors to come on board and help fund the library since 2019, but then the pandemic hit, and we had to halt the implementation of the library,” Thompson said.
According to Thompson, the school has never had a proper working library. He said they were looking forward to seeing the expressions on pupils’ faces when they returned to school to find that a once “vacant, poor-looking structure” had been turned into a library.
“We even had the place fitted with Wi-Fi for the kids to make use of when they are studying or have homework to do. It was already very difficult for us to get donors to come on board to donate to the school’s library, and now this happens.
“We won’t be continuing the project at the school until security measures are ramped up to prevent these criminals from entering again. We are appealing to the education department to conduct a full investigation because these break-ins cannot continue like this. It’s sad to see what they have done to the place,” he added.
The school principal and school governing body were not available for comment.
Meanwhile, the education department said it was ready to welcome back teachers, staff and pupils next week.
“The WCED has prepared well for the start of the new school year with the aim to ensure that teaching and learning begin from day one. Schools were provided with the opportunity to order top-up textbooks for the 2023 school year as early as May 2022. The orders were fully delivered to schools by October, [which] amounted to R62.6 million,” WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said.
Hammond said the department was determined to start the school year “afresh with a sense of optimism, hope, and with renewed energy”.
“Our focus will continue to be on recovering the learning losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the improvement of quality education for every learner, in every classroom, in every school in the province.
“We acknowledge that the recovery period will take some time, but we are certainly working hard to ensure gains in each grade. We [welcome] all new learners entering the system,” Hammond added.
News24
