'More than 500 000 pupils still depend on unsafe pit toilets'

BREADLINE Africa has warned that more than 500 000 pupils still rely on dangerous and unhygienic pit toilets at their schools in various parts of the country.

- KAREN SINGH

This comes after Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, in a recent parliamentary response to the EFF’s Noluvuyo Tafeni, stated that there are 77 schools with pit toilets and proper sanitation facilities are under construction.

The minister said the Department of Basic Education (DBE), together with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and the DBE’s implementing agents, have made significant progress in improving sanitation facilities at public schools under the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) initiative.

Gwarube stated that out of the 3 898 public schools initially identified under the SAFE initiative, 3 372 required assistance.

"To date, of the 3 372 public schools identified with basic pit toilets, 3 295 public schools have received sanitation facilities, and 77 are currently under construction and targeted to be completed at the end of August 2025," she said.

These include 54 in the Eastern Cape and 23 in KwaZulu-Natal.