United Africans Transformation calls on education department to fix schools
The political party also demanded a focused emergency plan that addresses the most dangerous infrastructure failures, including collapsing classrooms, lack of water and electricity, and pit toilets.
'This plan must have clear deadlines and be implemented with urgency, not excuses,' the party said on Tuesday.
It was commenting on a statement by basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube in parliament last week that '90% of schools are in fair to excellent condition'.
UAT said Gwarube did not speak for the thousands of pupils still sitting in unsafe classrooms, walking through cracked walls and using broken, undignified toilets.
'She certainly did not speak for the parents and teachers in rural villages and overcrowded townships who are crying out for change. This is not just about pit toilets. It is about children being sent to school every day in buildings that are falling apart.'
The party said it was about pupils learning in scorching hot container classrooms with no windows or proper ventilation.
UAT said Gwarube herself admitted that more than 8,000 schools still needed proper classrooms and that more than 13,000 schools did not have enough toilets to meet the needs of growing pupil numbers.
'And yet, her department missed its own deadline to eliminate pit toilets by March 31 2024, a promise made to South Africans years ago. These are not just backlogs. These are broken promises.'
The party said it was not good enough for the department to say 'we are working on it'.
'UAT believes that every child in this country deserves to walk into a clean, safe and fully equipped school not one day in the distant future, but now.'
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