KEY POINTS
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Over 30 KZN schools robbed of ICT equipment in 2025, disrupting digital learning and exacerbating rural-urban education disparities.
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Stakeholders demand advanced security measures (tracking tech, community patrols) as stolen devices often resurface in illegal markets.
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Incidents highlight systemic vulnerabilities, with underfunded rural schools losing critical tools for curriculum delivery and student development.
KwaZulu-Natal schools are grappling with a devastating wave of burglaries thefts targeting critical information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, crippling digital learning initiatives and exposing systemic security flaws.
IOL reports that over 30 schools have reported thefts of laptops, routers, and servers since January 2025, with losses exceeding R4.5 million, according to the KZN Education Department.
“Criminals are exploiting weak security to steal equipment meant to uplift rural learners,” said department spokesperson Mlu Mtshali. “We’re collaborating with police and communities to fortify schools, but the scale of these attacks demands urgent intervention.” The latest incident at Zamazulu Secondary School saw thieves overpower guards, steal computers, and erase months of student data stored on administrative laptops.
Digital divide deepens as rural schools bear brunt of thefts wave
The thefts disproportionately affect rural institutions like Inzuzwenhle Full Service School, where 8 laptops and 11 computer towers were stolen, derailing a state-funded digital literacy program. “These tools were lifelines for students without home internet,” said Public Servants Association (PSA) representative Charles Ngubane. “Each robbery widens the gap between urban and rural education.” Only 12% of KZN’s rural schools have functional computer labs, per 2024 government data, compared to 68% in urban areas.
Nonhlanhla Mabaso, SGB chairperson at Zamazulu, described the trauma of the May 21 attack: “Guards were tied up, alarms ignored, and years of lesson plans vanished. Without backups, teachers must start from scratch.” Similar raids at Sibongumbomvu Combined School stripped 22 laptops and a television, halting a coding pilot for Grade 10 students.
The PSA urges the deployment of tracking software and biometric locks, measures successfully implemented in Western Cape schools after a 2023 theft surge. However, KZN’s budget constraints delay action. “We’re stuck in a cycle: thieves sell equipment to syndicates, who resell it back to schools illegally,” Ngubane added.
