The Western Cape Education Department has confirmed that 38 schools were vandalised during the 2023 winter school holiday.
The department says items stolen or damaged range from water pipes and windows to cables and computers.
They say criminals also damaged fencing, and tampered with fire safety equipment.
One of those incidents happened at Crystal High School in Hanover Park, and resulted in a large portion of the school being flooded, forcing it to close temporarily.
Education MEC David Maynier says the cost of replacing and repairing the items is still being calculated.
“The cost of replacing and repairing these is still being calculated, and will divert funding away from the essential task of educating our learners. Someone, somewhere, knows who the perpetrators of these crimes are. Someone, somewhere, will be offered the goods stolen from our schools. We appeal to the public to report any details about these crimes, not matter how small, to the South African Police Services immediately, so we can shut down the criminal economy that is preying on our schools”.
