Adam Yates, Deadly Pit Toilets and the Right to a Basic Education

This piece explores how the education infrastructure in South Africa’s rural communities has resulted in a national crisis. According to the 2017/18 National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) Report, 269 schools in South Africa lack electricity. There are 8,702 schools with pit toilets—nearly half have installed new toilets but have yet to decommission the old—dangerous—ones. Thirty-seven schools have no sanitation facilities whatsoever. 7,816 South African schools are without piped water. The poor infrastructure conditions have both hindered classroom learning and caused tragedy. Since 2014, two children have drowned in dilapidated pit toilets at their schools. This film, 29(1)(a) — named after the clause in the Constitution that states that everyone has the right to a basic education—looks at the historic causes for this crisis, the present-day impact it has on learners, and possible solutions for creating change.