Spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education, Phumla Sekhonyane said the Department is aware and saddened by the passing on of a guard at Cosmo City Secondary as a result of a burglary. “We have sent our condolences to the bereaved family. The school was allocated 40 tablets last year and four scholar patrollers (security guards) on a 24-hour basis,” said Sekhonyane.
Amid complaints from some parents about the safety of their children walking to and from school, Sekhonyane highlighted that no pupils are allowed to take the tablets home. She mentioned that the recorded stolen items are: 28 computers, three laptops, 10 rams, 6 hard drivers, one projector and one tablet. She also said a case of murder and robbery has been opened at the Honeydew Police Station.
Sekhonyane said as part of the School Safety Strategy, the Gauteng Department of Education in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Community and South African Police Services have linked all Gauteng schools with their respective local police stations through the assignment of a police officer to each school and the additional support of a police sector vehicle allocated to precincts within which each school falls.
She added that all burglaries are reported to law enforcement authorities. “To prevent these incidents from taking place, the Department has deployed patrollers in all no-fee schools and deployed armed and unarmed security guards at identified vulnerable, high-risk schools,” said Sekhonyane.
She further highlighted that the Department is also in the process of finalising the Information Communication Technology equipment strategy which will include the procurement of a CCTV monitoring system and installation at key strategic points (laboratory and admin block).
