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Eradicating pit toilets, one click at a time – Gwarube launches Safe Schools App

Eradicating pit toilets, one click at a time – Gwarube launches Safe Schools App
A pit latrine toilet shared by more than five families in the Emandleni Section 1 informal settlement in Ekurhuleni on 29 November 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)
Takudzwa Pongweni
By Takudzwa Pongweni
9 Dec 2024
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Department of Basic Education finally unveils app to combat school pit toilets, six years after it was promised.

On 9 December 2024, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube unveiled the Safe Schools App, a tool to combat the issue of pit toilets in South African schools. Developed by Vodacom, the app allows communities to report remaining pit latrines, empowering real-time data collection and boosting transparency in the drive to eliminate unsafe sanitation. 

pit latrines safe schools app A pit latrine toilet shared by more than five families in the Emandleni Section 1 informal settlement in Ekurhuleni on 29 November 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)



In 2014, five-year-old Michael Komape from Chebeng village in Limpopo tragically drowned in a broken pit latrine at his school. The toilet, unable to support his small frame, collapsed under his weight, sending him into a pit of human waste where he suffocated. It took four agonising hours to retrieve his body. Michael’s death sparked national outrage and a decade-long battle to eliminate pit toilets from South African schools. Yet, nearly 10 years later, pit latrines still exist in schools across the country, putting thousands of children at risk. 

Civil society organisation SECTION27 has been advocating for safe school sanitation and better infrastructure since Michael’s tragic and preventable death. His death was preceded by that of seven-year-old Lister Magongwa in March 2013, whose body was discovered after the walls of a crumbling pit toilet collapsed on him at Mmushi Primary School in the same province. In 2017, six-year-old Siyamthanda Mtunu and, in 2018, five-year-old Lumka Mketwa drowned in pit toilets in the Eastern Cape. Also in 2018, five-year-old Viwe Jali was found dead in a pit latrine at Luna Primary School in Bizana.

Representing Michael Komape’s parents, SECTION27 secured a ruling from the Limpopo High Court in 2018, which ordered the provincial education department to eliminate all pit latrine toilets in schools. However, the Limpopo Department of Basic Education once again missed its deadline for this task in April 2024.

Nearly 11,000 schools in the country lack a single flushing toilet, and 3,398 schools still rely on pit latrines. Additionally, at least 25% of schools lack access to running water.

Thousands of children across South Africa continue to use pit toilets. In January 2024, the MEC for Education in the Eastern Cape reported that 427 schools, serving 113,041 learners, were still using pit latrines. Meanwhile, a progress report from the Limpopo Department of Education in November 2023 revealed that 1,837 schools in the province still depended on pit toilets.

At the official launch of the Safe Schools App  –  designed to track the eradication of pit toilets in schools across South Africa  –  Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube acknowledged that, despite the 2018 Safe (Sanitation Appropriate for Education) audit, reliable data on pit latrines remained inconsistent. Stakeholders, including the Human Rights Commission, have raised concerns that some facilities may not have been captured in the audit or could have emerged after it.

Equal Education researcher Kimberley Khumalo noted that the Safe programme, launched in 2018, had made slow progress, with 230 schools still awaiting improvements. Safe’s goal is to provide adequate sanitation facilities to schools across South Africa. So far, the initiative has successfully completed 3,145 of the 3,375 targeted sanitation projects, with notable support from corporate and social partners.

Plain pit toilets were banned in South African schools by the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure (the school infrastructure regulations) in 2013, with a mandate for their removal by 2016. However, more than a decade after these regulations were enacted, the initial deadlines for sanitation improvements – set for 2016 and 2020 – have been missed. Additionally, new deadlines, including one set for the end of February 2023, have also been repeatedly postponed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE)

Gwarube has set a bold deadline, with the DBE committing to eradicate all remaining pit toilets in schools across the country by 31 March 2025.

Khumalo expressed hope that the self-imposed deadlines would not again be delayed and said that the DBE had to recognise that each extension it granted itself resulted in learners continuing to face limited access to education in unsafe and unsuitable learning environments. 

Read more: Gwarube sets bold deadline for school pit toilet eradication, but progress is sluggish

Real-time data to accelerate pit toilet eradication


The Safe Schools App, developed and donated by Vodacom South Africa, is a tool aimed at promoting accountability and transparency in addressing one of the most pressing challenges in the education sector – pit latrines.

Gwarube outlined three strategic goals for the app. 

In the short term, it will provide real-time monitoring of the eradication of pit toilets. The app features a dynamic heat map that tracks progress on toilet removal nationwide, offering the government up-to-date information on efforts to address the Safe backlog.

In the medium term, the app will enable crowdsourcing of data to fill existing gaps in information about sanitation facilities across the country.

In the future, the app could expand its focus beyond sanitation as it has the potential to become a key platform for tracking other critical departmental initiatives, such as the National School Nutrition Programme, infrastructure projects and the distribution of learning and teaching materials. 

Gwarube said that in today’s world, technology was not just a tool but a necessity. It allowed the enhancement of accountability, optimised resource allocation, and improved efficiency across the education system. The Safe Schools app was a prime example of how technology could be used to address societal challenges that once seemed too large and complex to solve. 

Deadlines missed, but accountability remains


The Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure, which set specific deadlines for providing essential school infrastructure such as water, sanitation and classrooms, and also prohibited the use of plain pit toilets, was reviewed in early 2024. As a result, all deadlines were removed, although the ban on plain pit toilets remained in effect. Many experts have criticised the removal of deadlines from the revised norms and standards, pointing out that the absence of clear timelines reduced accountability.

Gwarube highlighted that accountability was at the core of the Safe Schools app. She explained that the app provided a clear, real-time view of progress, keeping everyone – government officials, implementing agents, administrators, and communities – focused on the ultimate goal of eradicating pit toilets in South Africa. 

“With real-time data, we will always know where we stand, enabling us to respond to delays, allocate resources effectively and celebrate our successes as we work towards our goal,” she said.

Gwarube described the Safe Schools app as a game-changer in addressing infrastructure challenges. 

“I believe it sets a new standard for accountability and transparency in public service delivery,” she said. 

She also emphasised the community-driven approach. The safety of schools was not only the responsibility of the government; it was a shared responsibility. The app empowered communities by giving them a tool to directly communicate with the government, ensuring that the government could respond effectively to challenges.

The human cost of unsafe sanitation in schools


Pit latrines can be extremely dangerous, as evidenced by the number of children who have tragically lost their lives. While there is no concrete data on the exact number of fatalities, several incidents have occurred across the country. In addition to the risk of death, pit latrines also have significant adverse impacts on health, exposing children to diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and intestinal infections.

In May 2016, when Oratile Diloane was only five years old, he was playing with his friends at school when he fell into a pit toilet. Diloane sustained severe head injuries, resulting in hypoxia and hydrocephalus, which ultimately resulted in his death in August 2024 at the young age of 13.

On 18 April 2024, three-year-old boy Unecebo Mboteni fell into a pit toilet at his crèche in Unit 6 in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape. Unecebo was taken to hospital and died on 19 April.

Gwarube said that the eradication of pit toilets was not merely a technical task, but a moral imperative. It was about dignity, safety, and the wellbeing of students and educators. It would also ensure that every learner, regardless of their background or location, had access to sanitation facilities that reflect the values of a democratic and inclusive society.

She emphasised that while the current focus was on sanitation and infrastructure, the Safe Schools app had the potential to revolutionise how the department managed and monitored other vital education programmes.

“The success of the schools at Safe Schools app depends on the active participation of communities across the country. I urge every parent, every teacher and concerned citizen, if you are aware of a school in your area that still has pit toilets, please report it to safeschools.gov.za. It’s an interactive application that is easy to use, that is easy to navigate. It truly is about putting the power in your hands. By working together, we can show that no child has to endure unsafe and undignified learning conditions,” Gwarube said. DM

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