The North West Department of Education MEC, Desbo Mohono, has strongly condemned the burning of a block consisting of five workshops and a storeroom at Sewagodimo Technical School in Pella Village on Sunday, 23 August 2026.
It is reported that the school held a camp for matriculants, which started over the weekend, with classes ending on Sunday, 23 August 2026, at 2pm. Following the camp, a parents’ meeting was held and ended at 4pm. The educators left the school premises at 17:00pm.
At 17:53pm, the school management was alerted to a fire at the school. Management immediately contacted the South African Police Service 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.
The MEC for Education, Dr Desbo 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 Friday, 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. Now, the Department is forced to redirect resources to repair schools that were previously in good condition. I am calling on the community to provide information to the South African Police Service so that those responsible for this barbaric incident can be brought to book,” said MEC Dr Mohono.
The Department will dispatch a team of inspectors to assess the extent of the damage tomorrow on Monday, 24 August 2026.
For more information please contact:
Ms Mercy Mokgatle | Media Liaison Officer | Cell: 060 980 7934
Dr Elias Malindi | Director: Communication Services | Cell: 072 115 4855/072 892 8399
