Tens of thousands of learners in Limpopo schools still rely on pit toilets, according to public‑interest law firm SECTION27, although the figure has fallen sharply since 2021. Speaking at a “Defend Our Democracy” event organised with Equal Education (EE) on pit toilets last Thursday, SECTION27 legal researcher Motheo Brodie said that more than 66,000 learners from 210 schools in Limpopo continue to use pit toilets. Data from the Limpopo Department of Education shows this is down from over 116,000 learners at 363 schools in December 2021. EE and SECTION27 have been campaigning to eradicate pit toilets in schools in line with the 2013 Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure, which banned their use and set a 2016 deadline for removal. On 24 March this year, SECTION27 launched the Michael Komape Sanitation Progress Monitor, an accountability tool that tracks the Limpopo Department of Education’s progress in eliminating unsafe and undignified sanitation, including pit toilets, and installing safe facilities. The monitor is named after five‑year‑old Michael Komape, who drowned in a pit toilet at his school in Limpopo in 2014. “Every day that learners attend schools with pit toilets is a day their constitutional rights are violated,” Brodie said. “Pit toilets are an immediate threat to learners, especially small ones, because they can easily fall in. They are a death trap.”
Nationally, the latest statistics from the National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) showed that more than 5,000 of South Africa’s 23,275 public schools still had plain pit toilets in April 2021. EE’s Head of Research Elizabeth Biney and National Organiser Zanele Modise noted that the bulk of the sanitation backlog is in mostly rural provinces such as Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu‑Natal, although they cautioned that some provinces under‑report. GroundUp’s attempts to obtain up‑to‑date figures met with mixed responses.
In the Northern Cape, spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said none of the 556 public schools have plain pit toilets; the most common facilities are flush toilets, ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets and enviro‑loos, with VIPs considered acceptable. In the Western Cape, Bronagh Hammond reported that none of the province’s 1 539 schools, including special‑needs schools, have pit latrines; municipal flush toilets are the norm. The Free State’s Howard Ndaba disclosed that five schools use a “hybrid” system of flushing and pit toilets due to insufficient water supply, but the department aims to eliminate the remaining pits by the end of the 2023‑24 financial year.
In the North West, a July 2021 Human Rights Commission report found 19 schools still used pit latrines and 44 schools had no sanitation facilities, with nine lacking water. Department spokesperson Elias Malindi told GroundUp that all schools have been provided with appropriate sanitation, including VIP latrines, and that any remaining inappropriate pits would be demolished by July 2023. He explained that reports of “no sanitation facilities” often stem from full VIP latrines, which receive provincial funding for regular pumping, and that boreholes have been installed where municipal water is unavailable.
Gauteng’s education department said the number of schools dependent on basic pit toilets fell from 3 898 in 2018 to 3 397, with sanitation projects at 2 499 of those schools already at practical completion. The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu‑Natal, Mpumalanga and other provinces did not respond to GroundUp’s queries, despite repeated attempts by department spokespersons to request clarification.
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