Cape Town - Teachers at Nomlinganiselo Primary School in New Crossroads are living in constant fear following multiple break-ins at the school.
The robberies, which usually take place at night, have raised concerns over the issue of safety at all schools in the townships.
After multiple break-ins at one of the township schools in New Crossroads, things have taken a turn for the worse. According to a teacher at the school, Yoliswa Sewula-Gebushe, the incidents have made them fear for their lives.
The break-ins have also seen the school losing valuables such as gas stoves and pots that they normally use to cook for pupils.
“As teachers we are in fear of our lives. On more than one occasion the school has lost important items, and we often wonder how these thugs gain access because the following morning we won’t really find any evidence.
“The fear that we currently experience goes to such an extent that whenever we seen an unfamiliar face wandering about the school gate we tend to think that they opted to come for us as teachers.”
Meanwhile the principal of the school, who would like to remain anonymous, said the issue of burglaries at schools was common, and made reference to a neighbouring school that was forced to hire a security guard for the night.
“The issue of break-ins is quite common at our schools. The school next door was forced to hire a security guard for the nights. Meanwhile in some schools they even pay an extortion fee just to be safe and free of break-ins.”
Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the WCED was concerned about the safety of learners and educators in schools, which was why there were Safe Schools programmes with various support measures in place.
Hammond said the department would continue to support schools and would help htem improve safety measures, but also could not be seen as the primary means of preventing crime.
The department required the support of SAPS, community policing forums, as well as the overall community at large.
“The WCED plans to spend R76.1 million this year on further securing our schools, and promoting the safety of learners. We are committed to constructing secure fencing at 30 schools every year for five years.”