EC education dept admits 200 public school still using pit toilets

On World Toilet Day, the urgent need to eradicate pit latrines is once again in the national spotlight, especially in light of tragic child deaths linked to unsafe school sanitation.

The Eastern Cape Education Department has admitted that more than 200 of its public schools are still utilising pit toilets.

This comes as the NGO, Amnesty International SA, calls for accountability following the death of a three-year-old child last year who fell into a pit toilet at a daycare centre.

Since 2018, at least three children have died in the Eastern Cape after falling into open pit toilets at educational facilities:

In 2018, five-year-old Lumka Mkhethwa drowned in a pit toilet at a primary school in Bizana.

In 2023, four-year-old Langalam Viki was found dead in a pit latrine at a primary school in Vaalbank.

In 2024, three-year-old Unecebo Mboteni died in the same manner at a creche in Mdantsane.

Eastern Cape Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed that the department was actively addressing the backlog by constructing new, safer facilities

"We are building about 137 schools this year using our budget that we have been allocated by the national office," Mtima stated. "Of course, there's still a huge number [of schools that still need pit toilets removed] - it's about 200 - but every year we are trying by all means to decrease it."

Meanwhile, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has noted the country's overall progress in ensuring access to safe, hygienic, and adequate sanitation.

Figures from Stats SA support this, showing that access to flush toilets and pit toilets with ventilation pipes increased from 61% in 2002 to 83% last year.