Johannesburg - "No parent, no matter how poor, should have to bury a 5-year-old-child that lay in faeces.”
This is the horrific ordeal that faces the family of little schoolgirl Lumka Mketwa, who fell into a pit latrine at her Eastern Cape school on Tuesday and drowned.
Equal Education believes the blame for little Lumka’s death at Luna Primary School in Bizana must be placed on Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, director-general Mathanzima Mweli, Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula, and provincial department head Themba Kojana.
“What pains me is that poor children in our country have been told that education will liberate them but they’re dying at our schools,” said Tshepo Motsepe, the general secretary of Equal Education on Friday.
Read:
“This poor child was safer at home than at school. If your start in life is learning conditions like this, then you’re setting up these kids for failure but the state expects them to beat the odds. These conditions can be fixed. I mean, it’s a toilet, for goodness sake.”
Equal Education said it was a matter of “horrific coincidence” that it was in the Bhisho High Court this week, asking Acting Judge Nomawabo Msizi to compel Motshekga to fix unconstitutional loopholes and gaps in the Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure.
On January 20, 2014, 5-year-old Michael Komape died after falling into a dilapidated pit latrine at his school in Chebeng Village in Limpopo.
Represented by Section27, his family was seeking damages from the state for the trauma, loss of income, expense and grief that they have suffered and continue to endure.
Mark Heywood, the executive director of Section27, called Lumka’s death an “accident waiting to happen”, which was fully foreseeable.
“Only three months ago in court in Limpopo we put up as evidence pictures of toilets in schools in Limpopo as dangerous as the pit toilet that caused the death of Michael.
“Lumka’s death is a complete indictment of the state's failure to take seriously the warnings of these dangers and to respect the rights of these young learners.
“Even if kids don’t die, which is the worst, on Monday, thousands of children will go to school and look into the contents of filthy, overflowing, dangerous toilets and their dignity will be attacked and they face health risks.”
A gaping hole at Tshwahlagae Primary. Picture: Supplied
On Friday President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was appalled and saddened by Lumka’s death.
He told Motshekga to conduct an audit of all learning facilities with unsafe structures, particularly unsafe ablution facilities within a month and to present him with a plan to rectify the challenges as an emergency interim measure while rolling out proper infrastructure within three months.
Also read:
Motsepe said an audit was unnecessary. “We already know where all these schools are. Now they need to be urgently fixed.” Equal Education said it was horrified that in official statements on Thursday, the department and its Eastern Cape counterpart incorrectly identified Lumka as Viwe Jali.
“That the two departments incorrectly identified the little girl, who died as a consequence of their failures, beggars belief.
“They got the name of the child wrong. How disrespectful to the family - they killed the wrong child,” said Motsepe.
Motshekga said the death of a child in such an undignified manner was completely unacceptable and incredibly disturbing.
But Equal Education slammed Motshekga’s condolences as hollow, disrespectful and insensitive.
“The provision of safe schools that support learning is not only fundamental to realising the constitutionally guaranteed rights to education, health, equality and human dignity, but is also a life and death question, as shown by the tragic passing of Lumka, and that of Michael.
“It is becoming increasingly evident that the governing party has no plan to improve the lives of poor black people - the government forces parents to send children to schools that are unsafe for learning to take place in an undignified environment.
“With resources that are available sometimes being unspent or misappropriated, apartheid can no longer be an excuse.
“When Michael’s family filed for a claim against the state, you could hear the state advocate insinuating the family was suing for money,” said Motsepe.
“No amount of money can bring their child back. The state sends its condolences but I know when Lumka’s family in a few months claims damages, they will oppose the matter.”
It said the latest National Education Infrastructure Management System report in January found there were 37 schools in the Eastern Cape with no toilets at all.
There are 1945 Eastern Cape schools with plain pit latrines and 2585 with ventilated pit latrines.
Motshekga said the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative had delivered 191 schools and of those 141 were in the Eastern Cape replacing inappropriate structures.
“The initiative has also provided water to 666 schools, sanitation to 453 and electricity to 372 sites around the country with the majority of these projects being in the Eastern Cape.”
The SA Human Rights Commission said it was appalled by Lumka’s death and had initiated a provincial investigation.
“The failure of the state to prevent a recurrence (of Michael’s death) and to eradicate the prevalence of pit latrines in schools is unacceptable.” Heywood said Michael Komape’s eldest sister, Lydia, had expressed shock and horror over Lumka’s death.
“They know the pain this family will have to endure.”