Learners at Tirelong Secondary School near Rustenburg in the North West, will not be returning to school anytime soon, despite the fact that school reopen on Wednesday.
This comes after criminals broke into the school during the holiday period and made off with equipment such as electricity cables, computers, doors, taps as well as the roof. Prior to the incident. The school has been renovated five times since March 2020 due to similar incidents.
The provincial Education Department spokesperson, Elias Malindi says that the incident is deeply concerning because even efforts to hire security guards were undermined after the guards were badly assaulted.
He says that the learners will be relocated to a nearby Secondary school since the school is not in a condition to accommodate learners when schools reopen on Wednesday.
North West Education MEC Mmaphefo Matsemela has appointed a task team to deal with the process of relocation and find a more permanent solution.
Meanwhile, Malindi adds that the damage is so extensive that the criminals even resorted to digging trenches in an effort to steal electricity cable and the school’s plumbing infrastructure.
Following consultations with the School Governing Body (SGB) the Department has also stated that they will be working with the police and that the SGB will activate its police forum in a bid to prevent any future incidents at the school.
