More than 70 schools around Limpopo have been broken into or vandalised during the lockdown period, said the spokesperson for the Limpopo Police, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo
In the latest incident, thieves broke into Jonathan Thifhulufhelwi High at Madombidzha over the weekend and stole 24 laptops. According to the police, the thieves cut the electricity cables and disconnect the alarm before they broke into the computer laboratory.
The chairperson of the SGB at the school, Mr Nathaniel Sandani, said that he was shocked after heard that the school had suffered a burglary. "We as the SGB members, educators, pupils and community are still shocked by this theft that denies our children access to proper learning facilities."
He said that last week the community had been left in darkness for three days after a transformer had burst.
"How do we explain theft of this kind where people steal from a school? Those hooligans do not have mercy." He added that the information on the laptops was valuable and, in some instances, irreplaceable. He said the school belonged to the community and they must respect their property, because vandalising and stealing at the school would hinder progress in the area.
"We need our children to enjoy education in a good classroom atmosphere," added one of the parents, Ms Mavis Dambale. She said that thieves were taking advantage of a lack of security during the lockdown period.
Mojapelo said the police appealed to anyone with information about the suspects to contact the nearest police station or phone the crime-stop number at 0860 010 111.