AN ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA
AMIDST A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION
(FOUNDATION PHASE) (PGCE FP)
FOR
EDUCATION AND ETHICS IN SOCIAL CONTEXT - FP (ED4-ETH1)
AT
CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE
BY
…
25 OCTOBER 2020
, 1. INTRODUCTION
On the 24th of June 2020, the Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni announced the new supplementary
budget that had been readjusted in the wake of the Covid-19 global pandemic and outlined the
government's plans to reprioritise and cut funding in different sectors including education (Equal
Education, 2020). These include major reductions in the Department of Basic Education (DBE) annual
budget, a R1.7 billion cut in school infrastructure grants, and a further R4.4 billion reprioritisation of funds
within the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) of which R600 million has been directed to the School
Infrastructure Backlogs Grant (SIBG) to alleviate the impact of Covid-19 through the distribution of water,
sanitation, and PPE equipment to schools that have little to no access to these basic amenities (National
Treasury, 2020).
These cuts could not have come at a worse time and put the spotlight back on the failures of the
Department of Basic Education and relevant provincial departments who had already been struggling to
meet their deadlines regarding school infrastructure before the Covid-19 outbreak. There is a growing
concern amongst education rights groups and activists regarding children's constitutional right to basic
education and what the long-term consequences of these cuts might mean for schools that rely on
government funding for infrastructure and development (Equal Education, 2020). Therefore an analysis
of the state of public school infrastructure will be explored within the context of South Africa. In addition,
projects such as SAFE and #FIXOURSCHOOLS will be discussed to gain a better understanding of how
the past failures of government and the DBE are shaping the future of unequal education.
2. THE STATE OF SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Department of Basic Education has left many schools and learners with broken promises of equal
education as many children across the country continue to learn in overcrowded dilapidated classrooms
with limited resources and little to no access to essential amenities such as functioning toilets and a
stable water supply (Mthethwa, 2020). According to the South African Schools Act (1996) the Minister of
Basic Education, currently, Angie Motshekga is responsible for prescribing the Minimum Norms and
Standards for School Infrastructure which should be implemented in schools across the country and
subsequently enforced under her supervision along with the relevant provincial departments. These
norms and standards outline a basic standard at which schools should be kept to ensure that children
despite their background have access to quality education that upholds their basic human rights (South
Africa. Schools Act, 1996).
This is unfortunately not a right all children are afforded in South Africa even after 26 years of democracy
as backlogs keep growing and on top of it cuts to education infrastructure grants amidst Covid-19 are
regressing the achievements of the Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure programs
for 2020/21 back by yet another year, including the eradication of pit latrine toilets in all schools (Equal
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