North West parents criticize Department over poor school sanitation

Some parents in the North West have criticized the provincial Department of Education for its continued failure to provide proper sanitation facilities at schools across the province.

This comes after the Department of Basic Education’s 31 March deadline to eradicate pit toilets passed, a deadline set to address the longstanding issue dating back to 2018. 

At Ramaina, Phetlhu Secondary School in Magogoe village, Mahikeng, learners still depend on unsafe sanitation infrastructure.

According to Statistics South Africa’s non-financial municipal census report, the province recorded an overall increase in bucket toilets during the 2022/2023 financial year. 

Although the department claims to have removed all pit latrines, parents argue that maintenance of existing infrastructure, including schools with flushing toilets, has been neglected. 

“We have about three schools in our area, all facing the same challenges of poor infrastructure and unsanitary toilets. We urge the department to visit and see firsthand the difficulties our learners face,” said one concerned parent. 

Another raised serious safety concerns.

“If children leave the school premises looking for toilets, they risk crossing roads and possibly getting injured. In such cases, the school must be held accountable.” 

North West Education Department spokesperson Mphata Molokwane says the department is actively working to improve sanitation.

“As a department, we’ve removed pit latrines from all schools in the province. We’ve also empowered schools through Section 21 of the South African Schools Act, giving them funds for infrastructure maintenance. It is disappointing to hear some schools still face these issues,” he said. 

However, some parents feel the department’s monitoring efforts are ineffective.

“There are supposed to be school readiness inspections but we’ve never seen anyone at our school. The department allocates funds in April and October with ten percent earmarked for minor renovations. We don’t know where that money is going,” said another parent.