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Three mobile classrooms torched in Jan Kempdorp

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The Northern Cape Department of Education has expressed ’concern and disappointment’ over the burning of three mobile classrooms at Realeboga Primary School in Jan Kempdorp on Tuesday.

File picture: Pixabay

THE NORTHERN Cape Department of Education has expressed “concern and disappointment” over the burning of three mobile classrooms at Realeboga Primary School in Jan Kempdorp on Tuesday.

Department spokesperson Sydney Stander said on Wednesday that it is currently unclear what the cause of the fire was as things were “normal” when the school adjourned on Monday.

“The fire was noticed when the principal arrived at school (on Tuesday). The matter has been reported to the local police and we hope that the community will help the police bring those responsible for the incident to book,” said Stander.

He added that the incident is “unfortunate” and does not serve the interests of the department and the learners.

“The burning of schools is not only unfortunate but it is also a huge burden on our already pressed financial resources. This incident means the department must reroute committed financial resources from important programmes or projects to rebuild or replace the three mobile classrooms. This, in turn, will have a huge impact on our ability to fulfil our other obligations,” said Stander.

He urged community members to take ownership of and to protect their local schools.

“The learners are supposed to conclude the second quarter on Friday, June 24. As the department, we have extensively advocated for communities to take full ownership of our much-needed infrastructure resources through the Love Your School Campaign in all five of the Province’s districts. We need to protect our education spaces for the sake of our children.

“Schools are critical vehicles in assisting the government, in collaboration with communities at large, to tackle the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment in communities. We want to encourage our communities to use the internal process of engagement so that we can attend to all issues affecting our relationship and continue to build a future for our children,” Stander concluded.

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