The Department of Basic Education revealed the latest figures on Friday.

The department says schools in Mpumalanga have suffered the most, with a total of 73 buildings damaged or burgled, while the Free State has escaped relatively unharmed.

Sixteen schools in the Free State suffered some kind of damage.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the damage to schools slow down the implementation of the department’s recovery plan once the lockdown is lifted.

"In all the burglaries, learning and teaching equipment has been stolen, together with other expensive items. The most common target areas in the schools are the administration blocks for information communication technology equipment and the nutrition centres for the food items.”

According to the department, a total of 44 suspects have been arrested in Gauteng alone.

There have also been two arrests in KwaZulu-Natal over the past 24 hours in connection with the surge in break-ins.

Motshekga says communities are supposed to take care of the infrastructure put in place by government.

"It is really unfortunate that criminals in our communities could destroy the infrastructure of their children. We applaud the work done by the police and we hope that more arrests will be made.”

Jacaranda FM