Section27 on Wednesday demanded the Basic Education Department ensure safety regulations at the Kharivha Primary School during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic were adhered to before the reopening of schools on June 8 or face legal action.

The organisation demanded that the department deliver a water tank, portable toilets and other necessaries before schools opened.

“At Kharivha, learners and staff were forced to use unlawful pit toilets which have subsequently been demolished. The school lacks running water on the school property, and SGB [school governing body] members tell Section27 that only six disposable masks were delivered for the school’s staff and that the school only received seven 1 ℓ bottles of sanitisers for about 95 learners. No masks have been delivered for learners.”

Section27 explained that because Kharivha has only been given masks for its staff, and not for its learners, as well as lacking sanitary toilets and water facilities, the school did not meet the safety preconditions for reopening.

Meanwhile, the DBE had set out the safety preconditions for the reopening of schools during the Covid-19 disaster in its Standard Operating Procedures for the Prevention, Containment and Management of Covid-19 in Schools and School Communities (SOPs).

It said the key pillars of the safety procedures therein were adequate sanitation infrastructure – safe toilets, clean and reliable water supply and sanitiser facilities – personal protective equipment, physical distancing measures, adequate orientation and screening for Covid-19.

The SOPs noted that these key pillars must be adhered to.

The organisation said that the sanitation issues at Kharivha had a long history.

“The school has two unlawful pit toilets on the property which were constructed in 2000, as well as four dilapidated and unsafe ‘Enviro-Loos’ which were built over 30 years ago. Because the enviro-loos have reached their capacity to hold waste, as well as being structurally unsafe, learners and staff have been reliant on the unlawful pit toilets,” it said.

Section27 explained that the DBE had promised to deliver two cloth masks for each learner and staff member and that it would deliver portable toilets to schools with pits toilets and water tanks to schools without water.

The organisation noted that while new toilets were being constructed, there were no functional toilets for learners and staff at Kharivha, saying it hoped that the DBE would fulfil its promises to deliver safe and decent sanitation given the urgency during the Covid-19 pandemic.