Restoring Human Dignity with Better Water and Sanitation Facilities to South African Schools

The Basic Education Minister of South Africa Angie Motshekga spoke at the opening of the Nobantu Primary School, a newly completed school in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape and shared information about the infrastructure projects currently being implemented by the government. Foremost in the agenda on school infrastructure is restoring human dignity by getting rid of unsafe structures such as mud schools.

Better infrastructure

Minister Motshekga gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the new Nobantu Primary School on Wednesday and said that the government will be providing better sanitation and water facilities to students especially those who have not had the opportunity to use such amenities. The schooling system has definitely seen major improvements with the significant amount of work on improving buildings and providing electricity, sanitation, and water facilities.

Minister Motshekga also reiterated the government’s commitment to continuing what they have started at Eastern Cape. She said that school infrastructure remains an important area of concern.

Building a better life for all

The Minister said that the government will be providing 448 schools with sanitation facilities, and water facilities will be built in 873 schools. In addition, the government pledges to provide the citizens with 200 new schools. Electricity will also be provided to 369 schools. According to Motshekga the schools will have access to computers and they will be given the chance to connect with children the world over.

All these government initiatives are intended to provide a better life for the citizens of the country that have been deprived of many basic human rights and conveniences for a number of centuries.

The ASIDI

The Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI) is a program that has been created in order to replace all the mud schools and other inappropriate structures so that schooling children could have better facilities. The initiative will also refurbish schools that are ill equipped and are too dilapidated. The department has by far completed a total of 19 schools at Eastern Cape. A total of 132 schools at Eastern Cape are part of the program.

The initiative is presently experiencing a number of significant but not insurmountable challenges including liquidation and poor performance of contractors.

Targets

The eventual goal is to fully eradicate mud schools by the end of 2015 to 2016. The short-term goal is 25% completion by the end of 2013-2014. The project will move on from Eastern Cape to other parts of the country. Included in the program are 25 schools in the Western Cape, one in the Northern Cape, 30 schools in the Free State, three each in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, and one in Northern Cape.

First batch completed

The initiative is a joint project of the government and the Development Bank Southern Africa (DBSA). The government has already spent R800 million with R5.1 billion additional commitments in work contracts. The new Nobantu Primary School is one of the first sets of 49 mud schools that will be replaced.

After this school is handed over, others will follow suit. Among those next in line are the Mphathiswa Senior Primary School and the Dakhile Junior Secondary School.

Photo Credit: South African School Children