The Western Cape Education Department has welcomed the arrest of 17 people accused of stealing R12 million from the scholar transport grant.

The department said that in 2017 it initiated an investigation into financial mismanagement at Atlantis Secondary School.

Provincial education spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said that eight of the suspects were department employees, and five of them were staff members at the school.

The suspects were due to appear before a magistrate in Atlantis on Friday.

Hammond said that the school was being assisted to move past this.

“The district office is providing support to the school. We are also aware of an ex-staff member, as well as a number of ex-school governing body members also having been arrested.”