As if schools don’t have enough to contend with already with the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 virus, burglaries, arson and the wanton destruction of the buildings and equipment are adding to their already heavy burdens.
One school in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas, in particular, just cannot seem to catch a break.
Bethelsdorp Comprehensive School, once one of the top schools in the area, is plagued by burglaries, with four reported in just one week last year. Four in one week — just think about that for a second!
Sadly, the burglaries and vandalism happen so often that the despairing principal and teachers no longer bother to report what they term “the smaller incidents”.
In the latest incident on Thursday, parts of a classroom were set alight, with textbooks and much-needed equipment destroyed in the fire.
“The decay in the community surrounding the school has now spilt over into the school,” principal Ralph Jacobus says.
“It breaks my heart to see what has become of the school, and I cannot imagine where it will end.”
The teachers say they have lost count of how many times the school has been broken into or vandalised.
The classroom damaged in Thursday’s incident was used for grade 8 and 9 technology lessons, as well as engineering graphics and design for grades 10, 11 and 12.
“We have nothing left to steal, now the criminals have resorted to arson.
“I don’t think they will stop until there is nothing left of the school,” Jacobus, himself a past pupil of the school, said
He said last year the school had reported eight break-ins in which it had suffered losses or damage, but it had had many more incidents.
Computers have been stolen, lights ripped out of the ceilings in some classes and even the ceiling boards taken.
All of the damage was repaired at the end of the school year, only for the lights and equipment to be stolen again a few weeks later.
The people who suffer the most from this criminality are the youngsters striving to obtain an education and improve their lives.
Wrecking the schools and stealing the equipment effectively robs them of the tools they require to achieve their dreams.
We hope that the education department will act with haste in repairing the school, replacing the lost equipment and providing it with additional security to keep its few remaining precious resources safe.