Parliament, Wednesday, 8 July 2026 – The Chairperson Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and the Creative Industries, Mr Makhi Feni, has criticised the Department of Basic Education for incorrect messaging around school sanitation.
Mr Feni said there should be no tiptoeing around the poor state of school sanitation in many schools in some rural provinces in South Africa. “It is unfortunate that the DBE and the Minister knowingly cited as an achievement the completion of an old project that should have been completed in 2018, when in fact the backlog had instead become so real,” Mr Feni said.
“Eradication of pit latrines needs continuous work given its challenging aspect of water where public schools can go for days without water and rely on Jojo tanks. It seems the communication was used to communicate misleading targets.”
The committee has visited various provinces to experience firsthand the sanitation challenges, particularly in the Eastern Cape, North West and Limpopo provinces. Many schools have problems in accessing water for use in sanitation and kitchen facilities. Classrooms for early childhood development is another challenge.
Mr Feni cited Bodium Primary School in Hamburg, Amathole West District, Eastern Cape where the construction work for new toilets was so shoddy that the school resorted to using pit latrines that had previously seen a child having to be extracted from faeces.
Mr Feni said the department ought to be careful around its messaging around issues of sanitation as they are so fundamental to the lives of poor black learners.
“It would be preferable if DBE and the Minister communicate maintenance plans and the rollout speed in trying to end the worse challenge of our times in schools. When we’ve had the dignity of poor black learners compromised on this fundamental right to have a proper sanitation, the least we can do is not rush to pat ourselves in the back.
“We therefore call on DBE to communicate the real extent of the challenge and genuinely start doing meaningful work in trying to resolve it. We cannot limit ourselves to a 2018 SAFE Initiative, but we note the information as shared,” concluded Mr Feni
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SCIENCES AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, MR MAKHI FENI.
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