Another school in Vuwani torched
At least three classrooms were burnt at the Mugoidwa Secondary School in Vuwani, Limpopo on Tuesday night.
Parents and pupils were preparing for the first day of schooling after three months of violent protests which kept children out of schooling when the school was burnt by alleged arsonist.
The department of basic education said the attack was discouraging and was pushing the department to spend millions it does not have.
Departmental spokesperson Elaijah Mhlanga said the attack was disappointing and discouragin as efforts to end violence suffered a major setback again.
“Nothing is going to stop us we are going to work closely with the community to make sure that we isolate people who are doing this, because it has gone beyond comprehension. It has gone to a point where, we really need to take drastic steps to ensure that we restore our education, we show respect on the future of our children,” Mhlanga said.
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“This is about the future of our children, obviously this is the future of our country and this is intimidation and should not be allowed we hope police will do their work and arrest the perpetrator.”
Mhlanga believe that the attack was an intimidation tactic that should not be tolerated.
“We need to take drastic steps… This is intimidation, it must not be taken.”
One of the parents said they were optimistic that school would resume on Wednesday morning.
Beatrice Masuvhelele said she had prepared her children to return to school, but the latest arson attack sent a disbelief in the entire community of Vuwani.
Masuvhelele and other residents had on Sunday resolved that schooling would resume and the shut down was suspended.
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“We are disturbed, I had prepared uniform for my child to return to school now, I don’t know what is going to happen,” she said.
A group of police and fire services extinguished the fire which had already reduced desk chair and other furniture to ashes.
The school joined a number of more than 24 schools which suffered an attack during the community protest against the decision by the Municipal Demarcation Board to incorporate the area under new Limpopo municipality.
Residents suspended the protest when the polling stations closed on Wednesday after they took a decision to boycott elections and not vote.
During Election Day, they either played soccer or sat at home when other citizens cast their votes for the 2016 Local Government Elections.
When the attack occurred riot police, deployed in the area who had rushed to Nzhelele about 70km from Vuwani where another violent protest had erupted.
It remains unclear who was behind the attack and what motivated property destruction.
Vuwani’s Sanco Nthangi Namadzavho condemned the arson attack. “We are baffled because we had a meeting on Sunday that children must focus on education as shutdown has been suspended, but it’s very painful,” he said.