The Gauteng Department of Education says it cannot afford to hire security services and is urging communities to take responsibility for safeguarding their schools.
This comes after Riverlea Secondary School in Johannesburg suffered a fire incident on Tuesday night.
The Fire
The blaze erupted late on Tuesday, just hours before the start of the second school term.
The fire destroyed the entire classroom block , departmental spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed.
“It is the devastating fire incident that took place on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, and destroyed an entire classroom block at the school.”
The fire affected three classrooms and a laboratory.
The Department’s Plea
Mabona explained that the department’s budget does not allow it to procure security personnel.
“We have said to the communities that they need to assist us, work together, and make sure that we safeguard our schools.”
“Community members should know that during recess, there’s nothing we do at our schools. If they see something unusual, they need to inform the police.”
“The police have given us assurances that they will assist in safeguarding schools, so they should be able to respond when needed. But if they don’t know, it becomes difficult.”
The Cost Constraint
Mabona added that security personnel had previously been deployed in some high-risk areas, but the costs were unsustainable.
“Unfortunately, we will not be in a position to afford security personnel at all our schools. We therefore call upon members of the community to work with us and safeguard our properties.”
“These are our properties as communities, and we use them for different purposes. When we request permission to use a school, we are granted it, so we need to jealously safeguard our infrastructure.”
The History
This is the same school where 11 classrooms used by Grade 8 pupils were damaged in a blaze in April 2025, just days before the second term began. At that time, police confirmed that three pupils came forward claiming responsibility for the fire.
The MEC’s Visit
Newly appointed Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile , is expected to visit the school on Wednesday morning following the fire incident.
The Bottom Line
The department can’t afford security. The police can’t be everywhere. The community must step up.
But after two fires in two years, the question is: will they?
