Less than 40% of South African public schools have municipal toilets

Only 8,820 of South Africa’s 22,381 public schools have municipal flush toilets, which are safe, modern sanitation systems connected to municipal infrastructure.

While some provinces have more than 90% of schools with these facilities, others, such as Limpopo, have coverage as low as 15.7%.

This was revealed by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube in a Parliamentary response to questions posed to her by Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Sibongiseni Ngcobo.

Sanitation systems include:

• Basic pit latrines, which are being phased out due to safety risks;
• Enviro Loos and VIP latrines that provide safer dry options;
• Flush toilets connected to municipal or septic systems;
• Mobile and chemical toilets used for temporary or emergency situations; and
• Alternative systems such as composting or hybrid toilets adapted for low-resource environments.

Looking at the schools with municipal infrastructure, Gauteng leads the country in school sanitation, with 91.7% of its 2,068 schools equipped with municipal flush toilets.

The province also has a small number of schools using VIPs, pit latrines, and other sanitation types, but the dominance of municipal flush facilities highlights the region’s strong infrastructure.

The Western Cape follows closely, with 90.9% of its 1,469 schools connected to municipal sanitation systems.

Most schools in the province rely on flush toilets supplied by local municipalities, with very few alternative or mobile sanitation facilities in use.

In the Free State, 80.3% of 915 schools have municipal flush toilets, while a small number of pit latrines, VIPs, and septic systems are also in place.

The Northern Cape shows a mixed picture. Of its 543 schools, 57.6% have municipal flush toilets, while others use pit latrines, VIPs, or small-scale alternative sanitation methods.

In the North West, 44.4% of 1,436 schools use municipal flush toilets, with a substantial number relying on pit latrines, VIPs, and other facilities.

Mpumalanga has 40% of its 1,671 schools connected to municipal flush toilets, while many schools still rely on pit latrines, VIPs, and septic systems. Mobile and chemical toilets are minimal but present in some schools.

KwaZulu-Natal, despite having the largest number of schools in the country (5,753), sees only 27.5% of schools connected to municipal flush toilets.

The province still relies heavily on VIPs, pit latrines, and alternative sanitation.

The Eastern Cape, with 4,990 schools, has just 21.8% using municipal flush toilets. Most schools continue to rely on VIPs, pit latrines, and septic systems, underscoring ongoing challenges in rural sanitation.

Finally, Limpopo ranks lowest in municipal toilet coverage, with only 15.7% of its 3,590 schools equipped with municipal flush toilets.

Many schools depend on VIPs, pit latrines, and other alternative facilities, indicating a critical need for investment in sanitation infrastructure.

Gwarube’s response

Gwarube said that the provisioning and maintenance of public school infrastructure, including sanitation facilities, remains the responsibility of provincial governments.

“The Department of Basic Education’s role is to provide national coordination, policy development, technical support and oversight.”

The Minister said that while South Africa has made significant progress in replacing unsafe pit latrines through the SAFE initiative, work remains to ensure all public schools have safe sanitation.

She said that the Department, together with provincial education departments and implementing agents, has assisted 97% of schools identified under the SAFE programme.

The remaining projects are expected to be completed this financial year, said Gwarube.

Challenges in some provinces, including procurement delays, contractor underperformance and adverse conditions, are being addressed through contract reallocation and strengthened oversight.

The Minister noted that full flush systems are not feasible in all schools due to infrastructure constraints, and that sanitation solutions must be context-specific.

Once SAFE projects are completed, ongoing efforts will be required to replace pit latrines not initially included in the programme, as part of provincial infrastructure plans.

A total budget of R1.6 billion has been allocated in 2025/26 under the School Infrastructure Backlogs Grant with future grant integration shifting greater implementation responsibility to provinces.

MECs are required to submit provincial financial recovery and infrastructure delivery plans, which are under review to ensure alignment with national priorities.

To strengthen accountability and transparency, the DBE is reviewing school infrastructure regulations and has launched the Safe Schools App, enabling school communities to report unsafe sanitation facilities.

Detailed breakdown of sanitation access in public schools

According to the Minister, the sanitation services available at schools are made up of:

Province	No. of schools	Pit	Enviro-Loo	VIP	Septic	Municipal	Mobile	Chemical	Alternative
EC	4990	340	172	3237	286	1087	9	3	41
FS	915		8	122	133	735	13
GP	2068		10	9	140	1897	98	6
KZN	5753	170	352	2702	642	1581	73	61	14
LP	3590	77	1604	1604	761	565		9	6
MP	1671	3	561	582	792	668	3	3
NC	543		67	62	198	313	2	1
NW	1436		45	362	858	638	7	2	7
WC	1469		1	4	232	1336	3
National	22381	590	2820	8684	4042	8820	208	85	68