SA’s schools are on fire, despairs education department, and will cost millions to repair
Torching schools as a form of political protest ‘is a serious setback for the very community who did the damage’, with the children facing the biggest loss
The loss of four schools to arson in a week carries a cost of as much as R160m if the government needs to rebuild them. The human cost is to the hundreds of children affected by the vandalism. Yet the culprits evade repercussions. The Department of Basic Education — which is battling with budget cuts — is outraged at this state of affairs. Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga confirmed that schools have been torched in Jouberton in the North West; two in Siyabuswa and one in Matsulu on Tuesday — a total of three in Mpumalanga in the past three days. The protest actions are reportedly related to political dissatisfaction. "Millions will be needed to repair them. This is a serious setback for the very community who did the damage‚" Mhlanga despaired, disclosing that "To build a standard size school costs about R40m; to reconstruct one take millions and time because you need to demolish the existing building. Mobile classrooms are very expensive. We bought 77 for R22m in 2016." This comes at a ...
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