Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, provided an update on the state of infrastructure in the basic education sector, During a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.
The Department of Basic Education has pledged to eliminate pit latrine toilets from schools by 2025, as part of its commitment to improving school infrastructure.
In 2013, minimum uniform norms and standards for public school infrastructure were established, banning pit toilets and obliging the department and provincial departments to eliminate them from schools. Nevertheless, despite these efforts, the department has failed to meet several deadlines for eradicating these toilets.
A recent incident in which a four year old child drowned in a pit latrine toilet in Vaalbank, Eastern Cape, has highlighted the urgent need for action.
Motshekga revealed that there are currently 3,398 schools across the country that still have pit latrine toilets.
The government’s SAFE (Sanitation Appropriate for Education) project has been launched to address this issue, with businesses being mobilized to support the government’s efforts. To date, 117 out of the 184 schools allocated to these businesses have been completed.