Cape Town - Amnesty International South Africa says there is a lack of political will to eradicate pit toilets in schools.
They made the remarks after an Eastern Cape learner, 4, was found dead in a school pit toilet.
The girl was found on Tuesday, after her mother went to the school to enquire about her whereabouts after she did not return home on Monday.
Police on Wednesday said that they were investigating the death of a four-year-old girl whose body was found inside a pit latrine at a primary school at Glen Grey.
Speaking to the SABC News, Amnesty International South Africa’s Sibusiso Khasa said there are nearly 3 000 public schools that still have 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,” Khasa added.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Eastern Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said police had opened an inquest docket and were investigating following the death of a four-year-old girl learner, whose body was found inside a pit latrine in one of the primary schools at Vaalbank, Glen Grey.
“It is alleged that on Tuesday morning, 7 March 2023, the mother of a four-year-old girl (a learner at the school) went to her child’s school to enquire about her whereabouts, after she did not return home the previous day,” said Nkohli.
Nkohli said a preliminary investigation led to the recovery of the girl’s body in one of the school’s pit toilets.
IOL