Use the field, parents tell their children: the pit toilets at this school are dangerous

The pit toilets at Elunyaweni Primary School in Ugie. Photos: Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

• Parents at Elunyaweni Primary School in Ugie in the Eastern Cape tell their children to use an open field because the toilets are unsafe.
• The school has only five usable pit toilets built 50 years ago for 160 learners. All are full.
• ET Thabane Primary School in Entokozweni has 60 to 70 learners per class taught in prefabricated classrooms from the 1980s patched with zinc sheets and roofs that leak.
• The provincial education department says Elunyaweni is not included in sanitation plans for 2026/27, but ET Thabane is to be rebuilt in May.

Learners and teachers at two primary schools in Ugie in the Eastern Cape say dilapidated classrooms and pit toilets are putting their children at risk.

The pit toilets at Elunyaweni Primary School were built 50 years ago. School governing body (SGB) chairperson Kholosa Faca said learners today are using the same pit latrines she used when she was at the school.

The school has 160 learners and only five usable toilets – two for boys, two for girls and one for teachers. The toilets have cement seats and are enclosed with zinc sheets. The doors are broken and parents donated money to build a wall for privacy. All the pits are full.

On a visit last month, GroundUp found a group of parents cleaning classrooms. We saw learners relieving themselves in an open field. Faca said parents encourage this as the toilets are unsafe.

“In 2024 department officials visited the school and told us we were first on the list to receive new toilets. They conducted a survey, chose a site and promised to return, but they never did,” said Faca.

“Every time we follow up we are told to wait. Maybe they want us to wait until a learner falls in and dies. This school starts from Grade R, and those small children are also using these toilets. It’s dangerous.”

Provincial education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said Elunyaweni is not currently included in sanitation plans for the 2026/27 financial year.

He said the school had been included in the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative, but assessments later indicated it did not meet the criteria for the programme.

He said the school had a low enrolment in 2024, with only 62 learners then.

ET Thabane Primary School in Entokozweni has 60 to 70 learners per class.

ET Thabane Primary School in Entokozweni has prefabricated classrooms from the 1980s. It serves 11 communities around Ugie and has 1,653 learners. Most classrooms are overcrowded, with 60 to 70 learners per class.

The prefabs are patched with zinc sheets. The walls shake when it is windy, the roofs leak when it rains.

In 2018, toilets were built through a donation and some windows repaired.

In February 2021, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and officials from the national and provincial education departments conducted an oversight visit after the Joe Gqabi District Municipality closed the school for failing to meet covid safety regulations.

In their report, the officials said the budget for rebuilding the school had risen from R147-million to R300-million. Two possible funding sources were identified, the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) and the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI).

But six years later the school has still not been rebuilt.

SGB chairperson Gcobisa Dastile said parents temporarily closed the school in a protest earlier this year. They were refusing to allow their children to continue studying in what they described as dangerous conditions.

“It was only then that department officials came back and promised again that the school would be rebuilt,” Dastile said.

Mtima said the project had been allocated to the Independent Development Trust (IDT), but a contractor had not yet been appointed. Assessments and scoping work were being conducted.

He said the department and IDT teams held monthly update meetings with the school and community. Site works were expected to commence in May, he said.

“So far there are no indications of delays.”

Inside a classroom at Elunyaweni Primary School.

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