The pit latrines were banned 10 years ago and should have been eradicated by now Photo Skynews
Glen Grey – Last week tragedy struck as the lifeless body of a four-year-old girl was discovered in the depths of a pit latrine toilet at a school in Glen Grey. Her heartbreaking death has intensified calls for South Africa to eradicate pit latrines and save lives.
Her death is one that shouldn’t have happened. In 2013, the Department of Basic Education adopted the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure. This banned pit toilets at schools and created a legal responsibility for the Department of Basic Education to eradicate them at schools. Ten years on and more than 5 100 schools still have pit toilets according to the 2021 National Education Infrastructure Management system report.
While an investigation into the incident has been launched, Itumeleng Mothlabane, Head of Equal Education in Eastern Cape, says this does not help anyone. The mere fact that pit latrines are banned means the government must be held accountable for their failures.
“We want the country to know that pit latrines should be removed and that is the main issue around the whole thing. We don’t want an issue around the circumstances of the learner’s death. Whether they were placed in the pit latrine or drowned in the pit latrine. We want to remind the country that pit latrines should not be in schools.”
No political will to eradicate pit latrines
In an open letter to Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, Amnesty International South Africa, stated the death of the child comes a “week after the department of Basic Education missed yet another deadline to eradicate all illegal plain pit toilets from schools”. The department has failed its learners especially in the Eastern Cape, said Mothlabane.
“It is unacceptable that ten years after the law was legislated, pit latrines have not been eradicated. Especially in a province that returned R100 million to the national treasury last year. Money that was meant for school infrastructure. It tells you clearly that from our leaders, there is no political will to eradicate pit latrines from our schools. Therefore the dignity of our learners continues to be compromised.”
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Holding government to account
Mothlabane is fully aware of how the government has responded in the past years to such tragic events. Equal Education will continue with their Fix Our School campaign to ensure the department brings dignity back to students. They are also going to implement ways to ensure those who get funds to build school infrastructure carry out their responsibilities.
To hear more from Itumeleng Mothlabane and the state of public schools, listen to the podcast here:
