MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane said the department is still counting the costs of repairing vandalised schools after more than 120 facilities were damaged last year.
“We have not rounded up the cost. But I must say the good news, we have managed to apprehend some of the perpetrators. The communities in some areas did come forward and showed us those particular people and retrieved some of the stolen items,” said Chiloane.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Education MEC Matome Chiloane had both officiated at a ceremony to handover Mapenane Secondary School in Ga-Rankuwa, City of Tshwane.
According to the Gauteng Department of Education 120 schools have been affected by vandalism since the beginning of the 2022 academic year while 24 schools were also affected by vandalism during the December holiday period.
The Department of Education said repairs have been ongoing since October 2022 and 488 schools were receiving day-to-day infrastructure maintenance.
The Department said it has now also procured 419 mobile classrooms to address overcrowding as it races against the clock to place learners in schools for this academic year.
The government also committed to procure “self-build classrooms” to increase placement capacity.
The Gauteng Department of Education said community members need to protect the school infrastructures.
