The basic education department says it has replaced every unsafe pit toilet identified in its 2018 national audit.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced during a visit to Dimbaza Primary School in the Eastern Cape on Monday.
She announced that the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative has now provided safer sanitation facilities to 3,372 schools flagged in its audit.
Remarkable national achievement
“Today (Monday) we celebrate a remarkable national achievement of eradicating 100% of the pit toilets identified in the SAFE Initiative Backlog.
“Tomorrow we will continue building, maintaining and modernising our schools until every learner, in every province, learns in an environment that reflects the value we place on their future,” she said.
The programme was launched after a series of tragedies involving children who died after falling into dilapidated pit toilets at schools, which sparked widespread public outrage and renewed pressure on the government to address unsafe infrastructure.
According to the department, more than three million learners and about 48,000 teachers now have access to improved sanitation as a result of the project.
School environment transformed
Speaking during the event, learner Ayama Willem from LF May Primary School said the new toilets have transformed the school environment by removing the fear learners once experienced when using unsafe facilities.
Teachers have also welcomed the upgrades. Dimbaza Primary School educator Anelise Fani said the old toilets had created difficult working conditions and undermined the dignity of both teachers and pupils.
However, Gwarube cautioned that the announcement should not be interpreted to mean pit toilets no longer exist at every school across the country.
Milestone applies only to schools identified during 2018 audit
She said the milestone applies only to schools identified during the 2018 SAFE Initiative audit, noting that some schools may have developed sanitation problems after the audit was conducted, while others may not have been included.
In some communities, older pit toilet structures also remain on school grounds despite new facilities having been built.
She said provincial education departments must urgently identify and resolve any outstanding sanitation challenges.
The minister also acknowledged that poor infrastructure remains a major challenge in the education sector. The department says there is an infrastructure backlog estimated at more than R120-billion.
The deaths and injuries of South African children caused by unsafe pit latrines represent one of the country’s most devastating and preventable human rights failures.
Children like Michael Komape, Lumka Mkhethwa, and Oratilwe Dilwane became symbols of a national crisis after falling into dangerous school pit toilets that should never have existed in places of learning.
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- The basic education department says it has replaced every unsafe pit toilet identified in its 2018 national audit.
- Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced during a visit to Dimbaza Primary School in the Eastern Cape on Monday.
- She announced that the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative has now provided safer sanitation facilities to 3,372 schools flagged in its audit.
- Remarkable national achievement “Today (Monday) we celebrate a remarkable national achievement of eradicating 100% of the pit toilets identified in the SAFE Initiative Backlog.
- “Tomorrow we will continue building, maintaining and modernising our schools until every learner, in every province, learns in an environment that reflects the value we place on their future,” she said.
