By Mpumzi Mshweshwe
The Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) failure to meet the deadline on the eradication of pit toilets has resulted in backlash from schools who have been overlooked and fell victim to dangerous learning environments. The deadline for the complete eradication of pit toilets by 31st March has come and gone, but about 287 schools still suffer from having pit toilets. The Minister of Education, Siviwe Gwarube, is set to address the issue tomorrow.
Gwarube said that there was a 93% pit toilet eradication rate on the 11th of March. The 93% of toilets that have been eradicated have come from the data and information provided by the department’s Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative. The initiative aims to complete assessments of existing sanitation infrastructure, de-sludging of the existing pit toilets, demolition of the existing pit toilets, construction of appropriate toilets, provision of rainwater harvesting tanks, and construction of walkways.
The United Democratic Movement Party (UDM) penned a letter to the department, in which they deemed the situation as unacceptable. “These outdated and unsafe sanitation facilities pose serious health risks to both learners and staff. Teachers are even forced to seek assistance from neighbouring homes when needing proper restroom facilities. This is not only inconvenient and undignified but also a public health hazard. No educator should have to endure such conditions while trying to provide quality education to our children”, said UDM Councillor Yongama Zigebe.
There have been concerns that the 2018 audit done by the department is outdated and that not all schools that have pit toilets have been identified, and some have therefore been overlooked because of that.
The statistics provided by The Outlier show that the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces are the two provinces with the most schools that still have pit toilets. Upper Dadamba Primary School from the Eastern Cape is one school that has been vocal about its situation and how it has been overlooked. The school has had pit toilets since 1993.
The unsafe conditions that both learners and staff are exposed to cause serious health risks and undoubtedly affect the quality of education and a safe learning and working environment. The UDM’s open letter used Dadamba as one of many examples of how the government has failed to reach its deadline and its effects, such as teachers using toilets from outside the school.
Data provided by The Outlier indicates that 174 schools in the Eastern Cape still have pit toilets and there are 88 in KwaZulu-Natal and 25 in Limpopo. This shows how there has been much progress since 2014, when there were 7,438 schools with pit toilets and Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal had the majority. However, the DBE still struggles to meet its deadline to eradicate all pit toilets in the country.
The country has just celebrated its Human Rights Day in March, however, there are still some lingering issues. The issue of individuals still having to fight for rights to a safe environment, Section 24(a) in the Bill of Rights, and their right to have their right to human dignity respected and protected (Section 10) needs to be addressed.
NewsSA reached out to the Ministerial Spokesperson, Lukhanyo Vangqa, who said that all questions about the issue of pit toilets and the missed deadline of 31st March will be addressed tomorrow, the 4th of April. Vangqa would have no comments after that. -@NewsSA_Online