School sanitation gets attention

Lesufi set to prioritise infrastructure at schools as the key for the department.

Panyaza Lesufi, the MEC for education in Gauteng, strongly believes in the principle that “sanitation is dignity” and believes no learner should be taught in conditions that deprives them of this dignity.

In his Budget Speech Lesufi announced that the department had identified 580 schools across the province which had challenges with sanitation. 

The degree of disrepair in these schools varied.  Contractors were appointed to do work in all of these schools and a budget of R115 million was set aside for this purpose.

 

Repairs have been completed in 400 of the 580 school identified for repairs. Lesufi has seriously reprimanded the managers who dropped the ball on this crucial mandate and a new team with centre project managers was appointed to remedy the delay. He remains firm that sanitation deadlines remain non negotiable

 

The department is expecting repairs in the remaining 150 schools to be completed by the end of this month.

Because of the special interest he takes in Tembisa, a decision was taken to do an overhaul in 50 schools in the area with an estimated budget of R15 million.  To date construction in 20 of these schools has been completed and we are expecting construction to be completed in the remaining schools by the end of this week.

These efforts ensurs that learners learn in schools with functional toilets is a clear indication of the commitment of this government in restoring the dignity of learners. 

As a permanent solution, the department has developed guidelines to schools to assist them in managing and maintaining toilets more effectively. The department is also assisting schools to use their maintenance allocations  more efficiently and effectively to deal with preventative and day-to-day maintenance.