The Eastern Cape is the only province in the country with schools that have no ablution facilities at all.
According to figures released on Thursday by Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, there are 37 out of the 5359 schools or "sites" in the Eastern Cape without any ablution facilities at all.
Minister Motshekga had an urgent meeting with all provincial MEC's and Heads of Departments today following an urgent directive from President Cyril Ramaphosa following the grisly death of five-year-old Lumka Mthetwa, who fell into a pit toilet at her school in Bizana in the Eastern Cape earlier this month.
The Minister said that all schools without sanitation would be addressed as a matter of urgency.
"After a discussion with President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, I have committed our Department to provide a detailed audit of sanitation facilities, with costed emergency plans and timelines to address this challenge," she said.
She said the Council of Education Ministers received a presentation on the current state of sanitation and ablution provisioning.
"We have some schools without any sanitation; schools with pit toilets; schools provided with sanitation but with pit toilets not demolished; schools with inadequate sanitation; sanitation not fit for purpose (age appropriate); schools with insufficient sanitation, given increasing learner numbers."
Minister Motshekga said her Department already has an "existing plan in place that is intended to eradicate these unsafe and inadequate toilets."
She said however that they need to confirm the information and fast-track the existing plans. "Our priority is safety," she said.
"I have always stressed that restoring dignity to the education system and to learners and ensure that their human rights are upheld. We know that especially in our rural provinces such as the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo bulk water supply is not supplied and installing a flushing toilet and is not a viable option. "
"However we have been using alternative technology such as the enviroloos to great success. We need to continue to utilise advanced and innovative technological solutions to our challenges in such areas where water is scarce," Motshekga said.
She said the meeting with the Education Council of Minister resolved to:
o Conduct a rapid audit of all sanitation and ablution facilities in our schools.
o All schools without any sanitation are to be addressed as a matter of urgency;
o Demolition of pit toilets where facilities have been provided to commence with immediate effect.
o To progressively and urgently eliminate pit latrines.
o Provinces to prioritise the provision of age appropriate seats for grade R learners in all schools, recognising that the Grade R classes was only introduced into the school landscape in recent years. As a temporary measure, consider the retrofitting of existing facilities to cater for Grade R learners or alternatively provide temporary facilities,
o Schools with inadequate or insufficient sanitation to be addressed with urgency.
o School toilets will be adequately maintained.
o In the meantime all unsafe and unhygienic sanitation and ablution facilities must be secured.
o A comprehensive costed plan, informed by the audit report of all the needs identified for sanitation and ablution facilities for schools, will be submitted to the President within three months.
Minister Motshekg said that in order to give effect to these resolutions the budget reallocation and reprioritisation, as well as a review of Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative, ASIDI, allocations and interventions from treasury are required.
(Graphic: Eds Dept)
