Amnesty International says there is a lack of political will to eradicate pit toilets in schools.
This comes after yet another learner was found dead in a pit toilet in the Eastern Cape.
Police are investigating the death of a four-year-old girl whose body was found inside a pit latrine at a primary school at Glen Grey.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli says the child’s mother went to the school on Tuesday morning to find out where she was, as she had not returned home the previous day.
Nkohli says the girl’s body was later found in a pit latrine.
Campaigner at Amnesty International South Africa, Sibusiso Khasa says, “We have nearly 3 000 public schools that still have basic pit toilets. Because even now, if you look at the fact that the Department of Basic Education last year proposed regulations that they are trying to remove the deadlines in terms of the minimum norms and standards. So, that shows you that there is a lack of political will.”
“Also, if you look at the history of how the department has been sort of spending money in terms of school infrastructure, you find that there has also been underspending in some cases,” adds Khasa.
