Responding to the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) announcement that it has not eradicated all pit toilets in schools by the self-imposed deadline of 31 March 2025, Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director Shenilla Mohamed said: “It is disappointing and unacceptable that once again the deadline to eradicate pit toilets in schools has been missed. The DBE has been promising since 2016 that it would eradicate all plain pit toilets from schools, but each year it has broken this promise and shifted the goal posts, violating the human rights of thousands of learners.
“The DBE on Friday said it had managed to eradicate 96% of pit toilets in schools which are part of its Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative. Amnesty International South Africa is calling on the DBE to provide clarity and be transparent about the actual number of schools still using pit toilets, including those not part of the SAFE initiative, and how it plans to eradicate those not part of this initiative with clear timelines. The use of plain pit toilets in schools violates a learner’s right to health, sanitation, education, dignity and in some cases, life.”
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Genevieve Quintal, Media and Communications Officer, Amnesty International South Africa: +27 (0)64 890 9224; genevieve.quintal@amnesty.org.za
