Eersterust Secondary School pupils burn school property to keep warm. Photos: Pretoria Rekord
In a video making the rounds on social media, Eersterust Secondary School pupils can be seen burning desks and chairs behind the toilet area.
Pupils can be seen enjoying the warmth of the fire after they allegedly burnt the school desks and chairs.
They are hiding their faces as soon as they noticed that they were being recorded.
In the video, the dilapidated bathroom buildings can be seen with broken windows, dirty walls and a collapsed school wall.
Since it is winter, it is common in most schools for pupils to bask in the sun to keep warm. The delinquent behaviour of some pupils burning school property, however, is taking their desire to stay warm to the extreme.
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This incident has grabbed the attention of many political parties in the area, which did an oversight visit to the premises.
United Independent Movement (UIM) spokesperson said it was very sad to see what is transpiring at the school.
“Many of us were taught in this school and our party’s vice president Fatima Abdool is a product of this school as well,” said Virginia Young.
Young said they demand that the Gauteng Education Department immediately step in and take charge of the situation.
“All these problems are directly linked to the government for removing God from our schools and abolishing corporal punishment in schools.”
Young said the department must act decisively in addressing this situation before it spirals out of control.
“If that school structure becomes a danger to pupils and teachers, hundreds of children will suffer the consequences.”
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She condemned the vandalising of school property.
“If we damage and burn down our educational institutions, we are a lost society and nation.”
Young added that the police must step in as these are criminal acts and putting those law-abiding pupils and teachers at risk.
The Department of Education was contacted but has not commented yet at the time of going to press.
Edited by Cornelia le Roux.
This article originally appeared in Southlands Sun and was republished with permission. Read the original article here.
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