Every pupil has a right to access clean and safe water

Attending school these days is, for many pupils in SA, akin to dodging bullets.

Pupils have to contend with bullies, ailing infrastructure, bureaucratic bungling and — in some cases — even actual bullets as gangsters use school premises as their battlegrounds.

As if that is not enough, a water testing initiative has now shown that more than 40% of water samples taken from schools around the country are unsafe for human consumption, highlighting the dire state of water access and sanitation in the education system.

And while for some pupils who can take water to school from home this is not a problem, the reality is that for far too many pupils, the most basic human need — access to clean, safe water — remains out of reach. 

Launched by the Water Warriors Collective, the school water quality testing project saw 95 schools in eight provinces take part in a month-long water testing initiative led by WaterCAN, a collective of citizen science activists.

Pupils and teachers were trained to use water testing kits and upload their findings to WaterCAN’s online MapMyWater tool.

Of the 95 schools, however, only 53 successfully uploaded test results due to various issues, including technical difficulties and school holidays.

But the results from those who did upload are alarming:

• 43% (23 samples) were classified as unsafe for drinking due to high bacterial contamination;
• 73% of tank water sources tested positive for harmful bacteria, including E. coli; and
• 66% of river water samples and 23% of tap water samples also showed unsafe bacterial levels.

The report succinctly sums up the sobering consequences of these findings: “When schools lack clean water, the consequences are profound. Children fall ill. Young girls miss school due to inadequate sanitation.”

In addition, WaterCAN executive director Dr Ferrial Adam said that while this sample represented but a faction of the more than 24,000 schools in SA, the findings suggested systemic challenges that demand urgent national attention.

But what will it take to ensure every pupil has access to clean water?

Projects such as these are a step in the right direction — creating young water warriors who realise the importance of clean and safe water sources. 

So there are roles that communities and civil society can play.

But it is also imperative that government departments stop treating school water access as a secondary concern and start working to ensure every pupil has access to clean and safe water.

It is a basic human right, after all. 

The Herald