DA welcomes KZN Education’s tough stance against vandalism of schools

10 December 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal welcomes the tough stance taken by the province’s Education Department when it comes to vandalism and the burning down of schools by unruly learners. This after an announcement by MEC KwaziMshengu that the Department would ‘not reward anarchy’ by building schools that had been deliberately destroyed.

The DA condemns such actions by learners in the strongest terms.

To date, we are aware of four incidents where schools have been severely damaged, in some cases by learners. These include Zwelinjani Secondary School in the Pinetown District, where buildings including the principal’s office, the school kitchen and staff room were destroyed last week, allegedly by learners who are not happy with results from the recent exams.

The DA regards this as unacceptable.There are numerous channels through which learners are able to communicate their grievances and it should never have come to a such a situation.

According to a recent parliamentary reply by MEC Mshengu (view here), to questions submitted by the DA, other KZN similarly affected KZN schools include KwaMncane Secondary near Taylor’s Halt, Silver Heights Secondary which falls under the Mountain Rise SAPS and Nsika Secondary in Plessislaer. According to the MEC, the current situation at each of these schools is as follows;

At KwaMncane, the perpetrator – a Grade 12 learner – has been identified and a charge laid at Taylor’s Halt SAPS (CAS Number 57/8/2019). Damage to the school includes the burning down of two classrooms with a value of R600 000 and textbooks to the value of R150 000. This school is not going to be repaired.

At Silver Heights, an electrical malfunction is believed to have been the cause of the fire which destroyed contents worth R630 000. Fortunately, the school is insured. Meanwhile, the DoE’s Chief of Engineering has assessed the structural damage and is due to report back soon. Whether this school will be repaired remains to be seen due to funding issues and;

At Nsika, the DoE is aware of the culprits and has reported the matter to Plessislaer SAPS (CAS 666/7/2019). To date, there has been no update or report from SAPS. This school saw two classrooms with an estimated value of R600 000 destroyed and there are currently no plans to repair the facility.

Regrettably, there are those learners who have had nothing to do with this conduct and who will now suffer the inconvenience of having to find new schools, which also may not be in the same area. However, there is only so much funding to go around and the DA supports the DoE’s view that the 81 schools which have suffered storm damage during recent months must come first.

In the interim, the DA urges MEC Mshengu to ensure that strict disciplinary measures are implemented where appropriate so that this intolerable destruction can be reined in. The vast majority of KZN’s learners deserve an environment where teaching and learning can continue without interruption.

Issued by Imran Keeka,DA KZN Spokesperson on Education, 10 December2019