Department’s big turnaround

JUST as we thought the education authorities would march in step with civil organisations and address the dire conditions faced by many schools, they make a turnaround, sparking confusion and despair.

Last week, the Department of Basic Education, in partnership with the Presidency, the National Education Collaboration Trust, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the United Nations Children’s Fund, launched the Sanitation Appropriation for Education (SAFE) Initiative.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the initiative would spare generations of young South Africans the indignity, discomfort and danger of using pit latrines and other unsafe facilities at their schools.

Indeed, it is a noteworthy and remarkable plan, which follows the deaths of two 5-year-old learners who died in pit latrines at their schools. Michael Komape and Lumka Mkhethwa drowned after falling into the latrines at Mahlodumela Primary in Limpopo and Luna Junior Primary School in the Eastern Cape, respectively. There are 4 000 schools across the country that only have pit latrines or other inappropriate facilities.

The irony is that the SAFE Initiative came shortly after the department announced that it would appeal against a high court judgment that set deadlines for it to repair or provide school infrastructure, including toilets.

Acting Judge Nomawabo Msizi handed down a ruling on July 19 calling for the State to comply with the Regulations Relating to Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure. The judgment meant the department would be fully bound to meet deadlines set in the law.

After initially welcoming the ruling, the government is now going to court to challenge Judge Msizi’s judgment, when the right thing to do would have been to knuckle down to make schools safe for learners. It is difficult to reconcile the SAFE Initiative with the State’s lodging of an appeal.

The money used for the legal challenge could be better spent undoing the legacy of apartheid at schools. More than two decades into our democratic order, dangerous and inadequate learning conditions persist.

We urge the minister to recognise the urgency of the Bhisho High Court’s judgment, in the spirit of protecting the dignity, safety and future of South African learners.