Pit latrines, South African schools, 1 600 schools, 300 schools in Limpopo, Limpopo government, need two years

More than 1 600 schools in SA are still using pit latrines and 300 of these schools are in Limpopo. Photo: michael_hamburg69 / Flickr

More than 1,600 schools in SA still use pit latrines – 300 are in Limpopo

Over 1 600 schools in SA are still using unsafe pit latrines and more than 300 of these educational facilities are in Limpopo.

Pit latrines, South African schools, 1 600 schools, 300 schools in Limpopo, Limpopo government, need two years

More than 1 600 schools in SA are still using pit latrines and 300 of these schools are in Limpopo. Photo: michael_hamburg69 / Flickr

The Department of Basic Education stated that there are over 1 600 schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape that are using pit latrines. Although the South African government launched the sanitation appropriate for education initiative students are still subjected to the scary and sometimes deadly pit latrines.

300 of the 1 600 schools are in Limpopo

The initiative was started five years ago to expedite the provision of proper and safe toilets in schools. EWN revealed that almost 300 of the 1 600 schools with pit latrines are based in Limpopo.

In 2014, five-year-old Michael Komape made headlines after he fell and drowned in a pit toilet in his primary school in Limpopo. South Africans were outraged and demanded that Government do something to make toilets safer for children.

Government reportedly needs two years to eradicate unsafe facility

Demichelle Petherbridge of Section27,  a public interest law centre, stated that they are attempting to find out why Limpopo’s government needs two years to produce safer toilets for students.

Petherbridge stated that the target that was set out before was much later than the current one and if it is possible to make the previous target, it would be welcomed. She added that deadlines tend to be missed and that they hope the challenges being faced will have solutions.

Petherbridge further urged the government to stick to said deadlines to ensure that the necessary services are delivered on time.

“The target they gave us before was much later than this, if they can make it then that would be great news. Unfortunately, we know that the deadlines have been missed and we hope that the challenges are going to be fixed. So, they need to stick to these deadlines and make sure everything is done.”

Pit latrines in the spotlight after school child forced to retrieve cellphone

Last year, Equal Education and Equal Education Law Centre demanded that the government eradicate school pit latrines while calling for an investigation into an alleged child abuse incident after a school principal forced a child into a pit latrine to retrieve a cellphone.

The education advocacy groups said in a statement that the investigation should be “carefully, quickly and sensitively” handled and they demanded that the government move faster to eradicate plain pit latrines at 1 243 Eastern Cape schools.

“Equal Education and the Equal Education Law Centre call on the Eastern Cape Education Department (ECDOE) and the South African Council of Educators (SACE) to carefully, quickly and sensitively investigate the Luthuthu Junior Secondary School principal, Lubeko Mgandela, who has been accused of forcing an 11-year-old learner to retrieve a cellphone from a pit latrine,” the groups said. Read the full story here.

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