Amnesty SA calls for fresh audit as Gwarube says 2018 pit toilet backlog has been cleared

Amnesty International South Africa has welcomed the department of basic education’s clearing of the 2018 pit toilet backlog but warns thousands of pupils may still be using unsafe toilets excluded from the programme.

This follows basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube’s announcement on Monday that all 3,372 schools identified through the 2018 Sanitation Appropriate for Education (Safe) Initiative audit have now been provided with safe and appropriate sanitation facilities.

In a statement, Amnesty International South Africa said the eradication of pit toilets at schools covered by the Safe initiative was an important step towards the fulfilment and protection of pupils’ rights and safety.

“While we welcome this long overdue development, there are many schools still using pit toilets which have not been accounted for,” the organisation said.

It called on the DBE to conduct an updated audit of all schools still using pit toilets, including those not covered by the Safe initiative and early childhood development centres.

It also urged the department to outline clear timelines for removing remaining pit toilets.

“The presence of pit toilets in any school violates pupils’ rights to health, sanitation, education, dignity and, in some cases, life,” it said.

Speaking during a school sanitation visit at Dimbaza Primary School, Gwarube said that all 3,372 schools identified in a 2018 audit across all provinces — except Gauteng and the Western Cape, which did not identify any pit latrines in that audit - have now been provided with safe and appropriate sanitation facilities.

Gwarube said the announcement applies only to the backlog identified in the 2018 Safe Initiative audit and does not mean every pit toilet in the country has been removed.

“Some schools may have developed sanitation problems after the 2018 audit, others may have been left out of the original assessment, while some communities have kept old pit toilet structures despite receiving new facilities,” she said.

According to Gwarube, the programme has benefited more than three million pupils and more than 48,000 teachers by providing safer and more dignified sanitation facilities.

She said South Africa still faces a school infrastructure backlog of more than R120bn, with many schools needing classrooms, libraries, laboratories, fencing and other essential facilities.

Gwarube said provincial education departments must urgently identify and address any remaining sanitation challenges.

“The natural disasters, vandalism and limited provincial budgets continue to put pressure on infrastructure delivery.

“I urge communities to help protect school infrastructure,” said Gwarube, adding that every classroom and sanitation facility preserved is an investment in the country’s future.

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