Among broken keyboards, pedals and strings lie years of memories, shattered by wanton vandalism at a school once praised for its music department.
Three broken pianos, books strewn across the floor and stolen water pipes are what pupils at St Thomas Senior Secondary School must return to later this month if action is not taken.
The Gelvandale school has beefed up security after being targeted by burglars and vandals on several occasions in recent months, mostly during the school holidays.
Staff and members of the school governing body (SGB) will have to conduct cleanup and repair operations once the school reopens.
Criminal elements have left bathrooms in ruins, scattered textbooks across classroom floors, and even stolen water pipes from school fire hydrants.
The school is yet to tally the cost of the damage, but the education department has indicated it will conduct a full assessment of schools that suffered damage during the holidays.
It will also review its maintenance budget to see how it can be applied for the necessary repairs.
According to the SGB, the school has been targeted at least four times since the last term of 2022, and each time a different section suffered.
Most recently basins, toilets and urinals in two bathrooms were broken out the walls and left in pieces on the floor.
In one classroom, stacks of textbooks were thrown around and seemingly trampled on, while holes were broken into sections of the ceiling.
At least two fire hoses were left unusable after the water pipes were cut and removed. One hose was ripped from the wall.
In two classrooms, three pianos were damaged, one possibly beyond repair.
SGB chair Rae Johnson said the first incident occurred before school closed, when burglars found their way into the bursar’s office.
Since then the school hall had been broken into, and most recently the clubhouse and the rear section of the main school building were vandalised.
“We have been forced to improve security at the school, and we are very grateful to our alumni who sponsored security patrollers on the school premises until schools reopen.
“We now have eyes on the premises 24-hours a day.”
The SGB also received a donation of a CCTV camera unit which would be installed at a strategic location on the premises.
“Our only concern is that we are a no-fee school, and the alumni paid for patrollers up to the 16th, when schools reopen.
“From there we will have to raise our own funds to keep security on the premises, or at least at night when there is no activity on the premises,” Johnson said.
She said the SGB would be working closely with the school in liaising with the department to compile a comprehensive list of the damages inflicted.
Staff at several other schools in the surrounding area said they were lucky not to have had similar incidents at their facilities, but believed the security guards they had on duty were an effective deterrent.
Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said such incidents were regrettable and the department would do what it could to assist once the school year had officially started.
“Once the department officially reopens schools, we will have to do full assessments of the damages they suffered and the relevant department representatives will work with them to see what can be done to help.
“We will look into what funds are available in the maintenance budget and see how we can most effectively apply these funds to assist the schools.”
Mtima urged SGBs to play an active role in the security and monitoring of schools during holidays to try to minimise the damage caused by criminals when schools were closed.
“While the department is responsible for schools, these schools are also community assets and therefore the community must also do its part to ensure the safety and security of these assets.”
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