The Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, launched the National Guidelines for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools (WinS) at the Welizibuko Primary School in Soweto on 25 June 2026. The launch marks an important milestone in Government’s ongoing efforts to ensure that every learner has access to a safe, dignified and healthy learning environment. The Guidelines provide practical, step-by-step guidance to schools to strengthen water, sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health services, whilst promoting accountability and sustainability across the basic education sector.

Addressing stakeholders during the launch, Minister Gwarube highlighted that poor sanitation affects learner attendance, health, concentration and academic performance, particularly for girls during menstruation: “Access to safe sanitation is fundamentally a matter of dignity, safety and educational success”.

The Minister announced that 99.9% of identified pit toilets have been eradicated through the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) Initiative, benefiting more than 3 million learners and over 50,000 teachers with safer and more dignified sanitation facilities. Whilst acknowledging this milestone, Minister Gwarube stressed that eliminating pit toilets is not the end of the journey. She emphasised that maintaining school infrastructure, promoting responsible use of facilities and strengthening hygiene practices are critical to ensuring that schools remain safe, healthy and conducive to learning. She called on schools, education departments, communities and learners to take collective responsibility for protecting and maintaining sanitation infrastructure, noting that the success of the WinS programme depends on creating lasting behavioural change and a culture of hygiene across South Africa’s schools.

Reliable water supply for drinking and cleaning, functional sanitation infrastructure and available hygiene services (WASH) in schools are imperatives for ensuring the safety and health of learners, especially in water-scarce and rural communities. These imperatives are detailed in the DBE’s Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure regulations and measured globally under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) on Quality Education and SDG 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation. The objectives of the National Implementation Guidelines are to standardise and improve the quality and accessibility of WASH services, by supporting schools on how to practically improve their WASH services step by step. A critical component of effectively implementing the WinS Guidelines is accurate data on the current status of water, sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health services in schools.

Informed by lessons from the successful implementation of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Three-Star Approach (TSA) in schools across Gauteng and the Eastern Cape Provinces, the Guidelines form part of the Department’s broader commitment to improving school infrastructure, learner wellbeing and educational outcomes. The TSA is an online self-assessment checklist for determining the state of WASH in schools, outlining clear benchmarks for helping schools understand where they stand and how to improve.

The WinS Guidelines were developed in collaboration with school leaders, district and provincial coordinators, key government departments and other stakeholders in the sector. To date, the guidelines have been piloted in 39 schools across two provinces, with three additional provinces having signed on as early adopters for the national implementation process, committing over 500 schools.