In a damning indictment of the Eastern Cape Education Department, more than 600 pupils have been forced to share seven damaged toilets for the past month at a Port Elizabeth school.
The department faces a R33billion provincial infrastructure backlog with only R1.5-billion budgeted for the 2018-19 financial year.
Pupils at EZ Kabane High School in KwaDwesi have access to just eight toilets – one of which is not working – in two foul-smelling ablution blocks on the ground floor of the triple-storey building.
The school’s other four ablution blocks – which have been recently renovated – cannot be used because of a disagreement between the education department and a group of SMMEs that had wanted to be included in the renovation project.
Four of the newly completed blocks have since been locked by Avumile Civils to avoid potential damage by residents and SMMEs.
The impasse has resulted in the school’s entire contingent of more than 600 pupils having to share the seven damaged toilets, meaning that on average, 85 pupils have to use one toilet.
EZ Kabane principal Shumani Mathige conceded that it was unhygienic for the pupils to be sharing seven toilets.
“They are already in a bad condition as they have not yet been renovated, but what else are we supposed to do?
“Because of this situation, there is not always available toilets in either the boys’ or the girls’ bathrooms.
“Then the boys will use the girls’ bathroom if it is urgent and vice versa, which introduces the possibility of gender violence.”
The Herald visited a dozen schools in Port Elizabeth last week to inspect the toilets. The principals of four of the schools said they lacked sufficient ablution facilities. It was found that: One school did not have any doors for the toilets;
Another had urinals torn off the walls; and
Plumbing fixtures such as pipes and taps had been stolen from most schools.
The principals blamed poor infrastructure and vandalism for the toilet shortages.
Education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said they were dealing with decades of infrastructure problems.
He said while the department was fixing infrastructure issues, it had also provided temporary structures to improve conditions for pupils.
Eastern Cape Equal Education co-head Amanda Rinquest said the sanitation situation in the province was a crisis.
“This crisis affects all schooling, whether it be in rural or urban, built-up environments.“And while the legacy of apartheid is a very real reality, particularly in this province, [the affected schools] are taking a further knock as a result of poor planning by the current government.
“In 2016, the provincial department sent back half-a-billion rands from their infrastructure budget to the Treasury because of lack of planning.
“One can’t just spend that money – it has to be accounted for. And this amplifies the already problematic infrastructure backlog.”
At BJ Mnyanda Primary in New Brighton, almost 1,000 pupils are forced to share 14 of the functioning but badly vandalised toilets.
Principal Veronica Mqokolo said the shortage was due to the school having to cater for more and more grades over the years – with no new ablution blocks being built.
“The frequent use of toilets causes blockages and burst pipes which we need to fix from our maintenance budget.
“This means we can’t fix the windows, doors and fields as we must fix the toilets.”
While education superintendent-general Themba Kojana said recently that infrastructure was a legacy problem dating back decades, vandalism was adding to the problem.
The vandalism of an outlet pipe saw raw sewage flow onto the playground of Diaz Primary in Theescombe last week.
Principal Sindie Tyala said the pipe had been fixed quickly, but there were still issues with a blocked basin drain, broken urinal and vandalised cistern tanks.
The principal of Pendla Primary in New Brighton, Nontobeko Ntshiminda, said its toilets were regularly blocked.
“This school was built in the ‘60s. The toilets are so old the cistern tanks are located on the outside of the ablution block.
“Often urinal pipe blockages cause leaks on the floor.
“We can’t fix them all the time because the maintenance budget is small and is used mostly to fix the fence, which is constantly cut and stolen.”
Nearby in Zwide, Emfundweni Primary principal Andile Maneli said not one of the 20 toilet stalls had a door.
“We have 910 pupils using these toilets and they have no privacy,” Maneli said.
“The walls between stalls are crumbling.
“My biggest concern aside from hygiene is that one of these walls falls on a pupil.”