The Limpopo Department of Basic Education is concerned about the break-in at Musina High, where a group of men entered the school premises in the early hours of Wednesday, 31 August, and stole 45 laptops.
The robbers allegedly held the security guards manning the school premises at gunpoint while they collected their loot.
"We call on community members to assist [the] police with information to apprehend the criminals. The laptops were donated to the school by a local mine and the robbery is a serious setback to learners who were using them. The department is still assessing the [full] impact … and will intervene accordingly," said the department's spokesperson, Mr Mike Maringa.
When Limpopo Mirror visited the school on Thursday (1 September) learning and teaching seemed to be going on as normal, despite the incident.
According to some of the school's parents, this was not the first time the school had been targeted by criminals. Last year, the school was also vandalised. People are starting to suspect that someone from the inside might be masterminding these criminal sprees. "We are sure that whoever is running these burglaries comes from within. The suspect(s) probably knows the whole school setup," said a community member.
The Musina Crime Prevention group was the first to arrive at the scene. "We are busy working with the police to bring the perpetrators to book," said Mr Mashudu Kenny Lesiba, chairperson of this community structure.
Concerned residents are making an appeal to the local municipality to rather award contracts for projects at the school to local people, as this will make it easier for the community and the police to search and identify suspects.
Musina SAPS confirmed the burglary. At the time of our going to press, no arrests had been made yet in connection with the incident. Police investigations continue.