The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has released an update on its efforts regarding the construction of facilities for education and an update in terms of raw figures for the number of schools that will benefit from these endeavours.
“The Department of Basic Education, together with Provincial Education Departments, is intensifying its delivery and monitoring of construction projects to deliver safe and appropriate school infrastructure,” said the department.
In a statement, the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE) programme was launched in August 2018 to provide appropriate sanitation facilities to schools dependent on basic pit toilets.
“The original number of schools on the programme was 3 898. There were several changes to the list since the start of the programme, mostly due to rationalisation of schools and site assessments that confirmed appropriate sanitation,” it said.
The DBE further explained that the current scope of the SAFE programme includes 2 806 schools dependent on basic pit toilets. Of these, sanitation projects at 1 723 schools have already progressed to practical completion and provided a full set of appropriate toilets to such schools. The remaining 1 083 sanitation projects are scheduled for completion before the end of the 2022/23 financial year, as stated a year ago.
An update is also provided on the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI), started in 2010 to address infrastructure backlogs.
The current scope of work on the ASIDI programme includes 330 schools that need to be replaced. Of these, 294 have already progressed to practical completion. The remaining 36 new schools are scheduled for replacement before the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
In terms of water provision, the current scope of work on the ASIDI programme includes 1 272 schools. Of these, water supply projects at 1 178 schools have already progressed to practical completion. The remaining 94 water supply projects are scheduled for completion before the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
With regards to sanitation, the figures state that the ASIDI programme includes 1 053 schools. Of these, sanitation projects at 1 023 schools have already progressed to practical completion. The remaining 30 sanitation projects are scheduled for completion before the end of the 2022/23 financial year.
“The SAFE and ASIDI programmes are funded from the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant. The total grant budget for 2021/22 is R2 396564 000. About 50% of the budget is allocated to the SAFE programme.”
The department said it’s confident that we will achieve the annual performance plan targets and that the full budget allocation will be utilised.
IOL