Phoenix Secondary School will open on Thursday after a fire destroyed the school’s library and administration block on Tuesday evening.
Speaking to IOL, the Department of Education’s Muzi Mahlambi said officials visited the school to assess the damage.
“We are disturbed that something like this happened at the school on the eve of the 2024 school year. This morning, HOD Nkosinathi Ngcobo visited the school and spoke to the school principal and school governing body,” Mahlambi said.
He added that learning and teaching will resume on Thursday.
It is alleged that the fire broke out at school late on Tuesday night. Private security firm, KZN VIP said response officers confirmed that the library and administration area were on fire.
"According to members of the public, when the fire started, they noticed two people jumping over the school wall. There were no injuries reported," KZN VIP stated.
Phoenix ward councillor, Michelle Lutchman, also visited the school on Wednesday. She has asked police to expedite their investigations.
Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on education, Dr Imran Keeka, called for swift police action.
"The investigation must be swift, especially since there are eyewitness reports of alleged perpetrators leaving the promises shortly after the fire started,“ Keeka said.
“We call upon police to work closely with the community and fire investigators to gather as much evidence as they can while expeditiously hunting down those who have allegedly committed this miserable crime,” he said.
Learning will resume at the Phoenix Secondary School tomorrow after an arson attack last night. pic.twitter.com/TrpUTed2hb
— Se-Anne Rall (@seannerall) January 17, 2024
IOL