Durban — The National Freedom Party is calling on the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education to fast-track the provision of security guards in all schools in the province, especially those in rural areas, following the burning of a school in Dumbe, north of the province, on Saturday night.
Kanye Kanye High School, which the party described as one of the best schools in the Zululand district, was set alight apparently by angry pupils after school management postponed their matric dance last week.
This, according to the NFP, sparked anger and protest among the pupils. The incident came before matric pupils sit for their exams, which starts on Monday.
“It's a worrying situation. This calls for an urgent intervention from the Department of Education in the province. MEC Mbali Fraser must make sure that rural schools are provided with security guards. We believe that had the school been guarded, this could have been prevented,” read the party’s statement.
The party’s secretary-general Canaan Mdletshe told the Daily News on Monday morning that the school excelled at Maths and Science and its destruction was set back for the district. Mdletshe also criticised the communities surrounding the school for failing to protect their own infrastructure like schools.
He called on local residents to realise and appreciate that whatever infrastructure the government provides - especially schools - belongs to them, and they must protect and guard it. The party said It was unacceptable that a school could be set on fire simply because there's unhappiness over the cancellation or postponement of a matric dance.
“As the organisation, we want to see an urgent intervention from all the stakeholders, in particular the department and parents. We want to emphasise to the community at large to take up ownership of schools in their areas. The province has a massive backlog of classrooms following the July unrest and floods. And the damage caused would take years to fix. One classroom destroyed is one too many,” conclude the party statement.
The incident was condemned by both Education Deputy Minister Dr Riginah Mhaule and KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Mbali Fraser during their monitoring of the examination start in and around Durban on Monday.
Police are yet to confirm the incident.
Daily News
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