Amnesty International slams govt's failure to eradicate pit toilets
Amnesty International South Africa has accused the Department of Basic Education of showing total disregard for the basic human rights of pupils.
The organisation says in KZN alone, 83% of public schools are primarily reliant on pit toilets.
Amnesty International's South Africa director Shenilla Mohamed says Minister Angie Motshekga vowed to eradicate pit toilets by the end of the 2022/2023 financial year.
Mohamed says that deadline expired this week with no word from the department.
"These illegal pit toilets are not violating the eight to sanitation which is enshrined in the constitution but also the right to health, education, dignity and privacy whilst in some cases posting a serious threat to the right to life.
"They continue to miss deadlines which the department has done before, the DBE showing total disregard for the basic human rights of learners."
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Mohamed says the government's failure only serves to widen the gap in access to quality education in an already unequal schooling system.
"We call on the Minister of Education to make public national and provincial action plans with concrete targets and deadlines addressing all school infrastructure that requires upgrading.
"By missing deadlines providing unreliable and inconsistent data and staying silent on the issue of pit toilets and the Department of Basic Education is evading accountability."
