By Thapelo Molefe
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube says unsafe sanitation remains a challenge at some schools despite the government completing the eradication of all pit toilets identified through the 2018 Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) Initiative audit.
Speaking during a school sanitation visit to Dimbaza Primary School on Monday, Gwarube announced that all 3,372 schools identified in the 2018 audit have now been provided with safe and appropriate sanitation facilities.
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However, she stressed that the milestone should not be interpreted to mean that pit toilets have been eliminated from every school in the country.
“The announcement confirms the successful completion of the backlog identified through the 2018 SAFE Initiative audit and does not suggest that every pit toilet in the country has disappeared,” Gwarube said.
She said some schools may have developed sanitation challenges after the original audit, others may have been unintentionally omitted, while some communities have retained old pit toilet structures despite receiving new facilities.
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The minister said provincial education departments must now identify and urgently address any remaining sanitation challenges.
The Department of Basic Education said the completion of the SAFE Initiative marks the end of one of democratic South Africa’s biggest school infrastructure programmes.
The project has provided safe sanitation facilities to more than three million learners and created healthier working environments for more than 48,000 teachers.
The department said the programme honours the memory of children whose deaths exposed the dangers of unsafe school sanitation, including Michael Komape, Lumka Mkhethwa and Langalam Viki – all of whom died after falling into pit toilets.
Gwarube said South Africa still faces a broader school infrastructure backlog exceeding R120 billion, with many schools still requiring classrooms, libraries, laboratories, fencing and other essential facilities.
She also warned that natural disasters, vandalism and constrained provincial budgets continue to place pressure on infrastructure delivery.
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The minister said the gains made through the SAFE Initiative must now be protected through proper maintenance, community ownership and stronger provincial oversight to ensure the new facilities remain safe, clean and functional.
Calling on communities to safeguard school infrastructure, Gwarube said: “Today we celebrate a remarkable national achievement of eradicating 100% of the pit toilets identified in the SAFE Initiative Backlog. Tomorrow we continue building, maintaining and modernising our schools until every learner, in every province, learns in an environment that reflects the value we place on their future.”
