Inside Education Reporter
Unknown attackers set parts of Mpolweni Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal’s uMgungundlovu District alight and broke into several classrooms and offices, damaging property, the provincial education department said on Wednesday.
Mpolweni Secondary is a public, no-fee secondary school serving the rural area near New Hanover in uMshwathi Local Municipality, about 40 km north of Pietermaritzburg.
The school hall was not affected and matric pupils will continue with their National Senior Certificate examinations as scheduled, the department said.
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka condemned the incident as a “criminal and cowardly attack on the future of children”.
“For anyone to burn and vandalise a school — especially during the NSC examinations — shows a shocking level of criminality and
disregard for our learners’ future. This is an act of sabotage that robs learners of the limited resources
available to them and drains the department’s already stretched budget. We will not allow thugs to hold our
education system hostage,” he said.
Hlomuka said law enforcement had been assigned to prioritise the case and that perpetrators would face criminal prosecution and possible civil claims for damages.
The department will step up security at schools and deepen cooperation with the South African Police Service and Community Policing Forums, he added.
He called on parents, traditional leaders and residents to help identify those responsible and “stop shielding criminals”.
“If you know who did this and you keep quiet, you are equally responsible for destroying the future of our children,” said Hlomuka.
INSIDE EDUCATION
