In July, the Minister of Basic Education announced that pit toilets had been replaced at all 3,373 schools that were part of a 2018 programme called the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) Initiative. After a nationwide audit, schools with pit toilets, which are illegal and sometimes dangerous, were listed on this SAFE list. The aim was to replace pit toilets with sanitation facilities that meet required standards. It took more than seven years to finish.
Unfortunately, the problem isn’t over. More than 400 schools have pit toilets that were never on the SAFE list. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) provided a list of them in response to a question in parliament in January. The red dots on the map show those schools.
Keeping track is complicated. For example, since May last year, the Department has provided two lists of SAFE Initiative schools. Neither is complete. The first list had 3,230 schools, the second had 3,600. Join the two, and there are 3,403 unique schools. A definitive list of the 3,373 schools doesn’t seem to exist.
Adding to the confusion is that on the list of schools with pit toilets that the DBE said in January weren’t on the SAFE list, 19 schools appear on one of the SAFE lists.
If you’re interested in schools with pit toilets, The Outlier has been tracking SAFE Initiative schools as identified by the DBE, as well as other schools reported to have pit toilets. See an interactive map here.
SECTION27’s Michael Komape Sanitation Progress Monitor has been tracking progress made by the Limpopo Department of Education on upgrading sanitation at schools with pit toilets since 2021.