Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, unveiled the Safe Schools App at a media launch at the Department of Basic Education (DBE) Conference Centre on 9 December 2024. Developed and donated by Vodacom South Africa, the app is a tool aimed at promoting accountability and transparency in addressing pit latrines in public schools, thereby contributing to their eradication.
“The Safe Schools App is more than just an application; it is a bold statement of our resolve to eliminate unsafe sanitation facilities in schools and to do so with transparency, efficiency and accountability. Pit latrines in South Africa have claimed the lives of several children, highlighting the urgent need for improved sanitation in schools,” Minister Gwarube said. During her address, the Minister emphasised the app's importance for enhancing safety and sanitation within the education sector. Following her address, a demonstration of the app's functionality followed.
In the short-term, the app will provide real-time monitoring of the eradication of pit toilets. The app features a dynamic heat map that tracks progress on the removal of pit latrines nationwide. This feature ensures Government has access to real-time information about its efforts on the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) backlog. It also highlights areas requiring urgent attention, ensuring that indeed, no child is left behind. In the medium-term, the app will enable crowdsourcing of data to fill existing gaps in information about sanitation facilities across the country. In the long-term, the department will roll out the use of the app to monitor other key programmes.
Beyond sanitation, the app has the potential to serve as a key platform to track other critical departmental initiatives, including the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), infrastructure projects and the delivery of learning and teaching materials. Minister Gwarube added that the launch of the app represented a significant step forward in the Department’s strategy to leverage technological partnerships to improve education outcomes in the country: “In today’s world, technology is not just a tool but a necessity. It allows us to enhance accountability, optimise resource allocation, and improve efficiency across the education system. By providing a clear and real-time view of progress, the app ensures that government officials, implementing agents, school administrators and communities, remain focused on achieving the goal of eradicating the backlog of SAFE pit toilets by the 31 March 2025 deadline.
“This tool will enable us to identify and respond to delays, allocate resources where they are needed most, and celebrate successes along the way as a game-changer in how we approach infrastructure challenges, setting a new standard for accountability and for transparency in public service delivery. It is about ensuring that every learner, regardless of their background or location, has access to toilets that reflect the values of a democratic and inclusive society. The urgency of the task cannot be overstated because unsafe sanitation facilities not only compromise the health and safety of learners but also impact their ability to focus on their studies and achieve their full potential.