By AGISANANG SCUFF
24 August 2026 – The North West of Education has strongly condemned the burning of a block consisting of five workshops and a storeroom at Sewagodimo Technical School in Pella Village, near Rustenburg on 23 August 2026. It is reported that the school held a camp for matriculants, which started over the weekend with classes ending on 23 August 2026, at 2pm.
The North West MEC for Education, Dr Desbo Mohono said following the camp, a parents’ meeting was held and ended at 4pm. Mohono said the educators left the school premises at 5pm.
“At 5:53pm, the school management was alerted to a fire at the school. Management immediately contacted the South African Police Service (SAPS) and firefighters, who were dispatched to the scene. By the time they arrived, the fire was in its final stages of burning.
“The cause of the fire is still unknown and investigations are expected to determine what led to the incident. It is alleged that all five workshops, each consisting of a storeroom and a classroom, were completely destroyed by the fire. A separate storeroom located outside the block was also burnt down,” she said.
Mohono emphasised that the burning of another school in the province was totally unacceptable.
“I wish to take this opportunity to strongly condemn the fire incident that occurred at Sewagodimo Technical School in Pella Village. On 21 August 2026, a school hall was burnt down at Matlhare Mokautu Secondary School in Monakato Township.
“The burning of school properties is robbing our future generations of valuable educational resources, and I have repeatedly highlighted that the government has limited resources. We already have a backlog of schools that need to be built and renovated across the province,” she said.
Mohono further said now, her department is forced to redirect resources to repair schools that were previously in good condition. She calls on the community to provide information to the SAPS so that those responsible for this barbaric incident can be brought to book.
“The department dispatched a team of inspectors to assess the extent of the damage on 24 August 2026,” she added.
The Guardian 