Despite the South Africa banning the use of asbestos in 2008, thousands of school children in Gauteng are still exposed to the deadly fibre.
According to IOL.co.za, 29 schools in the province are entirely constructed of asbestos, and a further 200 partially constructed of the same.
Among those fully made of asbestos, six are in Tshwane; Pretoria Primary, Tshwane Secondary, Fred Margadie Primary, Laerskool Broederstroom, Laerskool Hennopsrivier and Onverwacht Primary.
Others are in south west Joburg and the rest in Ekurhuleni, Vereeniging and northern Joburg.
Those that are partially built of asbestos are primarily in Mamelodi, Bronkhorstspruit and Hammanskraal.
There are serious doubts that Gauteng will meet the 2020 deadline to comply with the standards for school infrastructure.
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“With no latest report it may be deduced that barely any work has been done to replace the schools made up entirely of asbestos in the province,” Equal Education spokesperson Leanne Jansen-Thomas noted.
“Even with the extension to 2020, the department has still made no significant progress.
“The lax attitude by the department goes against the law and is completely inexcusable.
“They give no timelines and have this flippant attitude to this issue. There is absolutely no accountability to learners, parents and teachers in the shallow document the department has provided to us or the minister.
“It’s a well known fact the province is battling with overcrowding in schools, but providing new schools can’t come at the cost of compromising the lives of other children. The priorities are many for the department, but that does not excuse it of its duty.
“MEC Panyaza Lesufi talks a good game; he is tweeting that school infrastructure is to be prioritised as it’s in a shocking state as if he hasn’t been heading the department for the past five years.“ she went on.
Prolonged exposure to asbestos has been proven to cause cancer, often many years later. It has been banned as a building material in many parts of the world.
