The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has condemned the burglary and vandalism in schools and labelled it as selfish. This follows reports of 57 incidents during the June/July school holiday period, despite subsidised security at high-risk schools.

Provincial Education Minister, David Maynier says this is a significant increase from the same period in 2024. He says most of these incidents were minor but still disruptive of the functioning of schools.

Maynier says stolen or damaged items, including wiring, fixtures, food facilities, sports gear, and computers, will cost over R1 million to repair, diverting funds from education.

Despite our investment in subsidising holiday security at over 400 schools, we have seen an unacceptable increase in burglary and vandalism incidents at schools during the winter school holidays.

Read more here:https://t.co/I0nFdrscQw pic.twitter.com/6cimWTamdS

— David Maynier (@DavidMaynier) August 3, 2025