Thulisile Mapongwana
The South African Human Rights Commission in the Eastern Cape has released a damning report on the government's failure to eradicate pit latrines in schools.
The investigation found that more than 400 schools still use unsafe pit toilets, while many so-called replacements—ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrines—fail to meet child safety standards. The Commission says this is a systemic violation of learners' constitutional rights.
Speaking at a briefing in East London on Monday, Dr. Eileen Carter called on the Department of Basic Education to address the widespread sanitation crisis, which disproportionately affects rural schools. She warned that these failures perpetuate inequality and apartheid-era infrastructure disparities.
The SAHRC’s report includes inspections from schools across the province. Dr. Carter highlighted that the 2024 school visits uncovered major issues with all forms of sanitation. Pit toilets remain in widespread use despite government commitments to phase them out. VIP latrines, meant to replace pit toilets, are often poorly designed, with oversized seats, missing safety features, and weak structures, making them dangerous for young children. Flush toilets, where available, are frequently non-functional due to water shortages, forcing learners to use unsafe alternatives.
At Charlisle Bridge Farm School in Makanda, the Commission found newly built VIP toilets that were not yet operational, forcing learners to continue using old, unsafe pit latrines. At Plangeni Junior Secondary School in Bizana, missing doors on VIP toilets compromised privacy and dignity. At St Mary’s Senior Primary in Herschel, water supply issues rendered flush toilets unusable, leaving learners with no safe options.
The report criticizes the Department of Basic Education for failing to ensure that new sanitation facilities meet child-friendly safety standards. Issued in 2016, the Water Research Commission (WRC) guidelines outlined key safety measures for VIP toilets, including smaller seats, protective handles, and reinforced structures, but the SAHRC found that many VIP toilets still lack these critical features, making them unsafe for younger learners.
“The replacement of traditional pit toilets thus cannot be considered a true advancement if the replacements fail to eliminate the hazards that have already led to preventable deaths. The Department’s failure to adopt these recommendations is not just an oversight but an ongoing violation of the rights to education, safety, and dignity.”
Dr. Carter noted that at least two learners have drowned in VIP toilets in recent years, emphasizing the life-threatening risks of inadequate sanitation. The report further states that the SAFE programme, which aimed to eradicate unsafe sanitation in schools, has fallen short, with budget constraints, poor planning, and slow implementation cited as major obstacles.
In accordance with the SAHRC Act, the Commission has issued recommendations to protect learners’ rights, including eliminating all remaining pit toilets in schools, ensuring all new VIP latrines meet WRC safety guidelines, and issuing an urgent directive to contractors and implementing agents to enforce safety standards.
The Department of Basic Education must issue an urgent circular to all sanitation contractors mandating strict compliance with WRC safety guidelines for all future projects. Contractors must certify compliance for every project, and non-compliance will result in penalties, contract termination, and disqualification from future work.
Meanwhile, Tsepo Pefole, acting chief director of infrastructure, admitted that meeting the March 2025 deadline set by Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube to eradicate pit toilets is nearly impossible. He said the Eastern Cape Department of Education has already run out of funds for the financial year.
“The provincial budget is depleted as we are wrapping up the financial year, earlier than normal. We are now just collecting invoices and prioritizing that we pay with the little money that is left so we continue with the programme in the new financial year.”
He said there are about 20 schools with toilets under construction, but fiscal constraints are proving to be an issue. Pefole also cited an R82 billion backlog in school infrastructure, which includes pit latrines.
Commenting on VIP toilets, he said they were built in compliance with national and municipal bylaws but admitted that poor oversight and lapses in leadership had contributed to sanitation failures.
“It does happen that there are lapses and poor leadership, and as a department, we are able to have recourse for builders to account for their lapses.”
Meanwhile, the provincial chief executive officer for National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA), Loyiso Mbinda, welcomed the SAHRC’s report.
“We wish they had more time and funds to touch base on more schools in the province to see the gravity of the situation. The report indicates to NAPTOSA that the department many times is not acting responsibly. The mere fact that they could not budget properly and manage their funds so that the projects meant to be dealt with in this financial year are done. The money for the next year’s budget will have to pay accruals for the past year.”
The Department of Basic Education has 60 days to respond to the SAHRC’s report.
