The Eastern Cape Education Department is at its wits end over the ongoing vandalism of a special needs school in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Department spokesperson, Loyiso Pulumani, said the Reuben Birin Special School in Algoa Park for hearing impaired learners, has been the target of criminals since the 25 March and since then there have been at least three other incidents of vandalism.
“On Monday 25 March 2019 there was a burglary at the administration block of the school, and laptops and desktop computers were stolen,” he said.
Pulumani said on Wednesday 27 March there was another burglary in which printers were stolen.
He said the next day the school’s administration block was set alight and burnt to the ground while this past weekend 12 classrooms at the back of the school were also burnt down.
“These constant attacks have left the school in a serious crisis of confidence. The endangerment of learners with special needs is a serious indictment of the moral compass of the entire local school community,” he said.
Pulumani said while the 60 hostel learners “are still safe for now”, he said there is a serious concern going forward for the school which has a total enrolment of 140 learners.
He said the police were working overtime to ensure that culprits are identified and brought to book.
