By Kaya 959 Reporter
The Gauteng Department of Education will not spend a cent towards the refurbishment of the Glenvista High School after learners set it alight on Monday.
It is alleged that learners refused to write a scheduled exam and instead set an area of the school on fire.
Thomas and Skhumba asked Kaya 959 listeners what role parents need to play in this situation and what would be their immediate reaction should they find out their child tried to burn down a school hall?
Listen to the full conversation here:
During a visit to the school, Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, condemned the learners’ actions.
Principal Thobile Morgan said she had left for a meeting and received a text message about a fire at the school.
Fire and emergency teams were called to the scene.
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Fire damage
School property including a PA system, a projector screen, curtains and electrical wiring were damaged in the blaze and is set to cost around R400 000 to replace.
“Investigations into the matter by the SGB are ongoing. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished before causing major damage,” Lesufi said.
He said the department is devastated to discover that learners could go as far as committing an act of arson, destroying school infrastructure in the process, just to escape an important assessment.
“As such, we will not fix the damages caused by the fire. The school must see to it,” he said.
Despite their efforts, learners still had to write their exam on the sports field.
Meanwhile, the department had to shut down its 2022 Online Admissions website for urgent IT work.
This meant that parents and guardians who are applying under the current Phase 1 application period will not be able to access the website until further notice.
“Applications will not be affected by this emergency, and parents may resume applying once we give notice of the website going live again. Our technicians are working around the clock to resolve this emergency accordingly. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused,” Lesufi said.
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