By Amy Musgrave
While budget cuts in education have taken their toll, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube says there have been notable achievements under the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) and other key infrastructure programmes.
These include all 331 schools previously built from inappropriate materials, such as mud, being replaced, and 1336 schools connected to clean water.
Gwarube, who was briefing the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education in Parliament on the department’s progress and challenges in delivering safe, dignified school infrastructure, said 373 schools were electrified and 1086 schools received new sanitation facilities through the ASIDI programme.
A total of 96% of pit toilets from the Sanitation Appropriate for Education initiative have been eradicated, with 139 projects remaining, and 90% of schools nationwide were now in a fair, good or very good condition.
But, Gwarube said there was still much work to be done, including a dealing with a huge infrastructure backlog.
More than 8220 schools required additional classrooms at an estimated cost of R32.5 billion; 8% of schools remained in a poor condition and 2% in a very poor condition.
The minister said this reflected the legacy of underinvestment and inadequate maintenance by previous administrations.
A total of 13,485 schools needed additional toilets, which would cost R14.2 billion.
To meet the ongoing challenges of school maintenance, the department was reinforcing the implementation of the Education Infrastructure Strategy that mandated that 60% of the Education Infrastructure Grant be allocated to maintenance.
An estimated R10 billion was required annually for preventative maintenance and R14 billion for reactive maintenance.
Gwarube also spoke about the financial constraints the sector faced due to more than a decade of austerity. However, while the department had a R124 billion infrastructure backlog, progress continued to be made.
“We are not only correcting past wrongs but laying the foundation for a system that prioritises dignity, equity, and resilience. We owe it to this generation and the next,” the minister told MPs.
INSIDE EDUCATION
