EDEN DISTRICT NEWS - Vandalism damages at schools in the Eden and Karoo District amount to an estimated R25 000 to R30 000, says the Western Cape Education Department.

While many schools were hubs of activity over the holiday period, there were schools that remained vacant and were therefore targeted by vandals. "We need communities to be vigilant regarding activities around our schools and report any suspicious behaviour to the police as soon as possible. We also need their assistance in identifying or reporting perpetrators, who often are from within the community," says Western Cape Education Minister Debbie Schäfer.

Schäfer says 27 schools reported incidents of burglary and vandalism during the 2018 winter holiday period. "This is the same as the figure from last year at the same time."

Jessica Shelver, a spokesperson for the minister, says three schools in this district got vandalised. "In one case, perpetrators entered through a window of the media centre, damaging the window and the burglar bars." 

Shelver says in this case the school had an alarm system and security, but the perpetrators ran off when the alarm was triggered and they were confronted by security officers. In another case the school reported that perpetrators entered one classroom. Three windows and one door were damaged. The classroom was badly vandalised. The school's CCTV cameras shows four young boys entering the classroom and leaving with a bowl containing pens. The school has handed over the footage to the police, says. Shelver. 

"The school has an alarm system but the alarm was not triggered." At another school, the perpetrator broke the window of the admin building and stole cash from the strong room. This school's CCTV cameras recorded the incident and the school has handed over the footage to the police.

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