DURING the school holidays, thugs vandalised Tom Panyana Primary School in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape.
They made off with computers, kitchen equipment and electrical appliances. They also damaged desks, door handles and the roof.
School governing body chairman Tokoza Skade said the estimated cost of the damage was about R300 000.
He said those responsible for breaking in should be prosecuted as they were hindering the progress of 432 pupils.
He said in the past, the school was stripped of piping, taps, door handles, fence and electric wires.
“How is the staff and pupils expected to start the school year under these circumstances? No one knows or saw anything. The people who keep breaking in at the school are selfish because it is the pupils who suffer,” he said.
Tokoza said that the school employed security guards, but they only worked when they were open.
Parent Nomalungelo Simelela said: “The people who did this are known to the community.
“Someone must have seen or heard something.”
Police spokesman Khaya Tonjeni said detectives at Inyibiba Police Station were investigating a case of robbery. No arrests have been made yet.
Tonjeni said the public was encouraged to be vigilant and report any wrongdoing in public buildings.
“After all, they are the ones who suffer when such infrastructure is ransacked and stolen by opportunists and criminals who don’t value public infrastructure,” he said.
When asked how many other schools were broken into, Eastern Cape education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima promised to respond to Daily Sun, but had not done so at the time of going to print.
