Wednesday, March 11, 2015

DA and Cosas puts school toilets under the spotlight

Loyiso Langeni
11 March 2015

The Democratic Alliance has laid a compliant with the Human Rights Commission regarding inhumane conditions of toilets in schools around Johannesburg.

DA Deputy MP of Basic Education Desiree van der Walt said after visiting several schools in the province the conclusion is that the state of facilities at many schools in Gauteng indeed rises to the level of assault on the human dignity and rights of learners.

Van der Walt added that If you go to a school, a clean running water and proper sanitation is a must and is included in the norms and standards of infrastructure in the Department of Education. School principals, school governing bodies and staff, must make sure there is somebody that looks after these toilets, that they regularly clean and that, they are all times in a working condition.

Meanwhile the Congress of South African Students said the conditions of toilets in schools need to be addressed.

This as from its National Working Committee Meeting Cosas has resolved on declaring this month to declare burning questions of the state of school toilets in the country.

Cosas Secretary General Khulekani Skosana said the toilets are dangerous and they continue to strip off the dignity of the learners and teachers in schools.

Skosana added that they are not happy with the state of toilets in many schools especially in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal and Limpopo as the conditions of the toilets are very bad and unbearable.

“We are calling our government to start building toilets in all the schools in the country as we find a situation whereby many schools are not having toilets” Skosana said.

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