Impact of public protests on Education system: a case of 2021 political unrest in South Africa

Abstract

The peaceful environment of South African communities witnessed sudden civil unrest that led to the wanton destruction of public and private properties between 9-17 July 2021. The civil unrest which aggravated on daily basis within this period also culminated in massive looting in both KwaZulu-Natal Province and Gauteng Province. During the disturbances, the protestors looted and set many stores and warehouses ablaze. The turmoil was also extended to some schools, with some private and public schools looted and vandalized. Hence, this article aimed to explore the impact of this unrest on schools and to establish how teaching and learning had been affected in these South African institutions. Therefore, in this systematic review, we analysed the impact of political unrest on the education system in South Africa. 139 schools were affected in Kwazulu-Natal, with six schools razed by fire, 30 damaged, and 95 looted. Thus, a total of 139 schools were affected. However, at the time of this article, the degree of damage in 8 other Schools was unknown. It was noted that, of the six schools set ablaze, four were only slightly damaged and two were entirely destroyed. Furniture and other items such as food items the Schools Nutrition Program and offices were destroyed. Doors, windows, and others were also broken. This indicated that learners would be temporarily relocated from the burnt schools to locations where the government provided temporary classrooms for these schools. Conversely, rebuilding the damaged buildings and replacement of stolen school supplies will cost the Department of Basic Education millions of rands.