The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education and the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) said that the community surrounding Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, south of Durban, should play a greater part in protecting and advancing the school.
But a well-known activist from the area believes the community is already doing all it can and that the department should open up more resources to protect the long-standing educational institute.
Chatsworth Secondary School is one of the first schools built in the southern township, originally constructed to accommodate the country’s Indian population displaced through the Group Areas Act.
Days before the start of the 2024 school year, IOL reported on the robbery that took place, where a group of unknown suspects cleaned out the desks, chairs, electrical infrastructure and even some of the glass windows.
Entire classrooms spanning a few blocks were completely ransacked and vandalised by the community, seemingly without anyone seeing or hearing anything.
IOL investigations also uncovered that some of the stolen items were being sold in a community near to the school.
On the day we visited the school, there was one guard on duty, who indicated that he was new and the previous guard who was on duty during the robbery was seriously outnumbered and unarmed.
We asked Sadtu what they think should be done to beef up the levels of security at Chatsworth Secondary and other schools in the province that may have suffered the same fate.
“One man, unarmed at the gate, is not enough. I think the community members in conjunction with those Community Policing Forums can play a larger role.
“If there is a greater presence and these criminals from the communities who can see people are around, then maybe they would not act so freely. However, more can be done to provide actual security to these schools, besides community involvement,” Caluza said.
IOL contacted the school on Wednesday for a comment, but a secretary said officials were unavailable to comment at this time.
The Department of Education (DOE) responded to the robbery in a similar fashion, suggesting the communities surrounding public schools can play a better role in protecting schools.
Head of communications at DOE, Muzi Mahlambi said it was worrying to see communities treating their schools in such a way.
“We are worried that this can happen in our communities. This is what is happening to schools in our communities.
“We believe that there are members of the community who will respond to this. There is such a thing as community policing, and we urge the members of this community to approach the authorities if they see or know of something,” Mahlambi told IOL.
But long-time Bayview activist and Member of Parliament, Brandon Pillay said the community has played a major role in developing the school for years, and that the department needs to reassess the school’s quintile rating.
The alumni of Chatsworth Secondary, together with the school governing body and staff, have all contributed towards developing the school, but incidents like this render their hard work void, Pillay explained.
By branding the school under a low quintile rating more funding would be available to help the school beef up security, develop the school and provide much needed services to the community it educates.
According to the schooling system, public schools are classified into five groups, from the poorest (Quintile 1) to the least poor (Quintile 5).
Funding is based on the quintile that a school falls into, with Quintile 1 schools receiving the highest allocation per learner and Quintile 5 receiving the lowest.
The learners who attend Chatsworth Secondary are primarily from in and around Chatsworth, with a lot from the neighbouring informal settlements and low-income households.
Pillay said Chatsworth Secondary needs to be placed into a lower quintile, not quintile 4.
“This is all the more reason why the department should relook at their quintile rating. How do you expect parents who already earn so little money to contribute to the school?
“If you look at the community Chatsworth Secondary School services, then it is evident that more can be done to provide a quality education to these learners because they are not from well-off families,” Pillay said.
IOL