Gwarube: Some schools refusing to demolish pit toilets
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has revealed that some schools refuse to demolish old pit toilets after installing new and safer sanitation facilities.
The schools say they want to continue to use the outdated toilets as backup.
Speaking to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Tuesday, Gwarube explained that the ongoing reliance on pit latrines is due to a lack of maintenance in certain areas.
“We have issues with schools who refuse for us to demolish pit toilets even once the new toilets have been built. And I cannot blame them entirely because if some of these toilet’s malfunction, then the schools are saying these are our backup plan because sometimes there is an issue with cleaning and maintenance of the toilets, so, they are saying if we demolish these – they don’t have a backup plan,” she said.
Gwarube noted that while most schools now have the basic infrastructure in place, progress is being slowed by municipalities that cannot deliver essential services like water, electricity, and sanitation.
“Some municipalities have completely collapsed, and governance in some municipalities does not exist. And so, these schools exist within municipalities, and we can’t remove them from them. So, if a municipality can’t pay its bills, employees, it tells you that it can’t be able to provide basic services even for the schools,” she said.
The minister stressed that her department is not responsible for financially supporting struggling municipalities, but highlighted the need for stronger cooperation between national, provincial, and local governments to address infrastructure challenges.
She added that school infrastructure remains one of the department’s five key priorities.
On sanitation progress, Gwarube confirmed that only 137 pit toilets from the 2018 backlog remain, reflecting a 96% completion rate.
However, she acknowledged the department missed its 31 March deadline to fully eliminate all pit latrines.
The minister also flagged future challenges, noting that over 13,000 schools need additional toilets to accommodate growing learner numbers, which will require R14 billion.
“13,485 schools require additional toilets to cope with the rising learner numbers, and that would require R14 billion for us to be able to give them additional toilets. Because, while you may have proper toilets at the school. However, you may now have additional learners, so you need to build more in order for you to meet the requirements,” she said.
To address maintenance issues, the department is reinforcing the implementation of the Education Infrastructure Strategy, which mandates that 60% of the Education Infrastructure Grant be allocated toward maintenance.
According to the department, an estimated R10 billion is needed annually for preventative maintenance and R14 billion for reactive maintenance.
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