The Education for Social Justice Foundation (ESFJ) has given President Cyril Ramaphosa's plan to eradicate pit toilets in South African schools the nod.
In a statement on Wednesday, ESFJ said President Ramaphosa's recent plan "will certainly go a long way to restore confidence and pride in a wide range of communities" especially those whose loved ones who died tragically in unsafe pit toilets.
President Ramaposa's action plan followed the tragic deaths of two primary school children, Micheal Komape and Lumka Mketwa.
Five-year-old Mketwa died after falling into a pit latrine at her school, Luna Primary School in Bizana, in the Eastern Cape earlier this year.
In 2014 another 5-year-old, Micheal Komape tragically drowned in a pit latrine at his school, Mahlodumela Primary School, near Polokwane.
According to the Department of Basic Education's 2016 statistics, more than 9000 schools across South Africa have only pit latrines for toilets while a further 171 schools have no water, 569 have no electricity and 68 operate without any toilets at all.
The Foundation said "although the action plan will not completely bring about safety in schools, it will lessen the burden of work done by security guards to ensure that all children are safe in schools.
Ramaposa launched the Sanitation Appropriate for Education Initiative in Pretoria on Tuesday.
He said "the initiative would save lives and restore the dignity of tens of thousands of children as Constitution demanded.
