CHILD SAFETY: School water and sanitation crisis drags on as DBE balks at national deadline

As many as 3,661 public schools nationwide still lack reliable water and decent sanitation, yet the national Department of Basic Education refuses to set a definitive eradication deadline. Despite a R50bn infrastructure grant over the medium term, the funds are not ring-fenced, raising concerns that a crisis that has persisted for more than a decade will continue.

More than 3,000 public schools still lack reliable access to running water and adequate sanitation that meets the minimum norms and standards for public school infrastructure, and the national education department will not set a deadline to address this.

This is according to a parliamentary reply from Minister of Basic Education Siviwie Gwarube. Using provincial reports, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) said 1,366 schools rely on mobile tanks or other temporary water supplies, while 2,295 schools require replacement or upgrading of sanitation facilities that “do not meet the minimum norms and standards.” Taken together, that means 3,661 schools are identified as needing water or sanitation interventions.

KwaZulu‑Natal accounts for 1,498 affected schools (40.9% of the national backlog), followed by the Eastern Cape with 1,028 schools (28.1%) and Limpopo with 595 schools (16.3%). Mpumalanga has 230 schools (6.3%), North West 148 (4.0%), the Western Cape 69 (1.9%), the Free State 42 (1.1%), the Northern Cape 26 (0.7%) and Gauteng 25 (0.7%).

The DBE confirmed the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) for the 2026 Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework totals R49.954-billion. That sum is divided across three years – R16.257-billion in 2026/27, R16.590-billion in 2027/28 and R17.106-billion in 2028/29. KwaZulu‑Natal receives the largest provincial share in 2026/27 (R3.019-billion), then the Western Cape (R2.622-billion) and the Eastern Cape (R2.319-billion).

According to the reply, the EIG is designed to support the broader public school infrastructure programme, including the provision, maintenance, upgrading and replacement of infrastructure.

“It is not ring-fenced only for water and sanitation backlogs, as provinces must also address other urgent infrastructure needs within available budgets,” read the reply.

Additionally, the department clarified that it did not itself implement provincial school infrastructure projects as provincial education departments were responsible for planning, procuring and implementing school infrastructure projects, including water and sanitation projects. This was in accordance with their provincial infrastructure plans, the applicable grant framework and the