I am deeply committed to closing all pit toilets in our schools and ensuring that every pupil and teacher has access to safe, dignified sanitation facilities. This is not just a priority for me; it is a moral obligation for the country.

As we mark World Toilet Day on 19 November, we must face a difficult truth about our country: almost three decades into democracy, too many South African children still rely on unsafe pit toilets in their schools.

The existence of pit toilets in any school is not just a failure of infrastructure; it is a grave and unacceptable risk to the lives of our young people. The tragic stories of children who have lost their lives or faced harm in these conditions must haunt our collective conscience and serve as a sombre reminder that access to safe sanitation is not just a right, but a matter of life and death.

The painful reality is that we cannot change the past. However, we can -- and we must -- change the future. I am deeply committed to closing all pit toilets in our schools and ensuring that every pupil and teacher has access to safe, dignified sanitation facilities. This is not just a priority for me; it is a moral obligation for the country.

We owe it to our children to create a learning environment that respects and protects...