A teacher at Kwazakele High School in Gkebela recalled how criminals broke into the staff room and robbed all the teachers at gunpoint. (Thamsanka Mbovane/Ground Up)
- The Eastern Cape Department of Education has allocated an additional R59 million to strengthen security in schools in the province.
- Since November, 131 schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro have been robbed, many at gunpoint.
- Many teachers say they are afraid to report for assignments.
Since November, 131 schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay region have been robbed, Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mitima told GroundUp. Most of these robberies were at gunpoint.
The provincial Department of Education issued a statement declaring several areas in the municipality “hotspots” and allocating millions of rands to improve safety in these and other schools.
The ministry said crime-prone areas are in the northern Motherwell areas of Kwazakele, Zbide and Gkebela.
Police said the latest incident took place outside El Fefeni Primary School in NU7, Motherwell, which only opened last week.
Police spokesperson Andre Bötge said: “The vehicle hijacking took place on Mzwadzwa Street (at El Fefeni Gate). Several teachers from the school arrived in a gray Kia SUV and the gate was locked. They are said to have been waiting for the ban to be lifted.” Three armed suspects approached them. ”
The robbers took the teachers' personal belongings and cars, Bötge said.
“The vehicle was later found abandoned a block away. The incident is being investigated as a hijacking.”
In Kariega, police spokeswoman Priscilla Naidu confirmed that at least three gunpoint robberies took place at Pafani High School, Tinalha High School and Mjuleni Primary School in Kwanobule township last month.
At Kwazakele High School in Gkebela, where robberies have repeatedly occurred, a teacher, who requested anonymity, said the robbers were very young. This school has approximately 1,076 students.
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“These robbers are as young as our learners,” she said.
“They come in groups of three to five people on busy days when non-teaching staff, such as security guards, may not notice. , mobile phones, laptops etc. Last year they came to the staff room.”
The teacher added:
They pulled out guns, demanded our personal belongings, and left with them. As they were as young as the learners, they assumed it was a joke, assuming they were carrying toys.
Pumzil Vena, the outgoing chairman of the school's governing body, said some teachers were considering quitting because they no longer felt safe even outside the school gates. He said only nine of the 30 teachers had returned to school after the recent robbery.
“Teachers have said that if the situation does not improve, they will find work elsewhere.”
Education MEC Fandir Garde told the media last week that the department had allocated R59 million to strengthen security in schools in the 2024/2025 financial year.
MEC arriving at Chelier High School in Gqeberha for school safety media briefing and MEC engagement with principals. He is scheduled to address 981 principals from the Sarah Baartman, Amathole West and Nelson Mandela Bay school districts.#Building blocks for growth pic.twitter.com/vybjTUctdM
— ECDOE (@ECDOEZA) April 4, 2024
He said an additional 1,000 security guards, 350 administrative staff and 24 social worker assistants would also be hired as part of plans to make schools safer.
“We will be installing surveillance cameras, access control systems, alarm buttons linked to the police station and fencing to ensure the safety of the school,” Gade said.