Progress in eradicating pit toilets in schools — but there are still too many

While strides are being made in addressing the issue of sanitation in schools with the eradication of pit toilets, advocacy group Section 27 has reiterated that the presence of such structures at more than 1,000 schools remains unlawful.

Motheo Brodie, a candidate attorney at Section 27, said that while there was progress in eradicating pit toilets, there were still too many schools reliant on them. He also highlighted that the presence of such toilets was not only unlawful but also hazardous to pupils.

Section 27 has been gathering data related to the toilets, mostly in Limpopo province, as a result of the Michael Komape judgment. 

Michael Komape was five years old when he drowned in a pit toilet at Mahlodumela Primary School in Chebeng Village, Polokwane, on January 20 2014. Section 27 helped Komape's family with litigation. 

In 2021, the Limpopo high court in Polokwane issued an order compelling the government to provide a detailed list of all schools in the province with pit toilets and their plans to eradicate them within 90 days.

The defendants included the Limpopo department of education and the national department of basic education. They were also ordered to show how the funds would be sourced, and to explain what interim measures would be implemented “to address schools' urgent sanitation needs and immediate safety risks, pending the delivery of permanent sanitation measures”.

Brodie said the Limpopo department of education (LDoE) has submitted an implementation plan for the province. As per the plan, schools were placed into three different categories.

Schools with inappropriate sanitation (no existing appropriate toilets) were categorised as priority 1, while schools with inadequate sanitation (not enough toilets or a mixture of appropriate and inappropriate sanitation) were categorised as priority 2. 

He said schools with compliant sanitation, which either require refurbishment or demolition of pit toilets, were priority 3.

“The timeline for dealing with P1 schools was March 31 2023, however 37 schools remain and the LDoE reports that all P1 schools will be addressed by March 2025. The deadline for P2 schools is March 2027 and the deadline for P3 schools is March 2029,” he said.

He added that the main reason given for the failure to meet the deadlines for P1 schools was issues with implementing agents and contractors. He said that they couldn't talk about other provinces as they had only engaged with the LDoE.

“We have, however, advocated for the formulation of a clear plan with deadlines like the plan in Limpopo after the Komape judgment to ensure that speedy progress is made and provincial education department officials are held accountable,” he said.

According to the Education Facility Management System (EFMS) report updated in July this year, there were more than 1,700 schools with pit toilets across the country.

The top four provinces were Limpopo with 789, Eastern Cape with 427, KwaZulu-Natal with 254 and North West with 257. 

Some of the schools included ones that have been provided with appropriate facilities but the pits have not yet been demolished. 

“In Limpopo specifically, the construction of school sanitation infrastructure is separate from the demolition of plain pit toilets. With P1 schools, for example, contractors commence demolition of plain pit toilets only after construction of new toilets is completed,” he said. 

He added that in categories of P2 and P3, demolition happens either simultaneously or after construction.

“It is important that these plain pit toilets are demolished as soon as possible as their presence on school premises is a threat to the safety of learners irrespective of whether they are being used,” he said. 

In March this year, Section 27 in partnership with the Centre for Child Law launched the Michael Komape Sanitation Progress Monitor. 

Brodie said the tool has been useful for school leadership at a grassroots level including for principals, SGBs and parents to track what the LDoE’s plans are to address their schools' sanitation infrastructure needs.

“It has been a very useful method to take the voluminous information we get from the LDoE as a result of the Komape court order and make it publicly accessible. Because the information is so voluminous, it has been a challenge keeping the tool updated but we are in the process of updating it with the most recent reports we received from the LDoE,” he said.

He said they have seen progress from Limpopo education in terms of addressing P1 schools but they have missed their self-imposed deadlines by close to two years to address all P1 schools — which was concerning.

He added that Enviro Loo, a waterless dry sanitation system alongside the Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets, was the technology of choice for the department of education (DBE).

“These technologies are lawful, safe and dignified for learners and are also suitable across the country, especially in water-scarce regions,” he said.

Amnesty International said the fact that there were still more than 1,700 schools in South Africa where illegal plain pit toilets are in use displayed a continued disregard for the basic human rights of learners.

“These pit toilets not only violate the right to sanitation but also the right to health, education, dignity, privacy, and in some cases pose a serious risk to the right to life,” said the organisation's spokesperson, Genevieve Quintal. 

She said when they launched their campaign in June, the DBE’s EFMS Report from 2023 showed that there were still more than 3,900 illegal pit toilets in South African schools.

She said in July of this year, the department released its 2024 EFMS report which showed that of a total of 22,511 school sites, 1,770 schools still use pit toilets (one site can have more than one type of ablution facility). She added that 287 schools have pits only, down from 728 in 2023. 

“While it is a decrease, it is not enough, as all pit toilets must be and should have been eradicated by now. Amnesty International will continue to hold the government accountable for eradicating illegal plain pit toilets from all schools in South Africa,” she added.

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