‘Grappling With Maths While Dehydrated’: Kagiso Trust Dialogue Connects Water, Sanitation and Learner Dignity

Education Conversations convenes stakeholders ahead of Africa Day to discuss how basic infrastructure shapes outcomes

“Picture this: trying to solve a complex mathematical problem while being dehydrated. For many learners … this is a reality.”

These words from grade 10 learner Kgodiso Masete featured in a powerful Education Conversations dialogue hosted by Kagiso Trust in partnership with the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Education.

In line with the theme of Africa Day on Monday 25 May – “Assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063” – the virtual conversation examined how access to water and sanitation in schools goes beyond service delivery. In fact, it is a fundamental education and human dignity issue.

Kgodiso, from Potoko Secondary School in Burgersfort, Limpopo, highlighted the lived experience of learners. He explained that dehydration, poor hygiene conditions and interrupted school days directly undermine effective teaching and learning, particularly in under-resourced schools.

“When learners have access to clean water and dignified sanitation facilities, they build confidence, self-respect and a sense of belonging within the school environment,” he said. “Quality education cannot truly be achieved when learners’ most basic needs are unmet.”

His presentation reinforced a central thread running through the dialogue: access to safe water and sanitation cannot be separated from education outcomes because it is deeply connected to learner wellbeing, participation and academic success.

Restoring learners’ dignity

Klaas Mahlahlani, principal of Dikubu Primary School in Mookgophong, Limpopo, shared his school’s journey of transforming deteriorating, unsafe toilets into clean, sustainable, learner-friendly facilities.

Drawing from his leadership experience navigating ageing infrastructure, blocked sanitation systems and unreliable water supply, Mahlahlani emphasised that “restoring sanitation facilities also restores learners’ dignity”.

Through collaboration with external stakeholders, including a partnership with the Department of Correctional Services that provided the labour of inmates with plumbing skills, his school achieved tangible improvements in learner wellbeing and attendance.

But Mahlahlani was clear about the limits of going it alone. “When you operate a school system alone, without external stakeholders, the system is going to collapse,” he said. “Sustainable progress depends on partnerships between schools, communities, government and external stakeholders.”

Persistent challenges

Aluyolo Mbeki from Equal Education said access to safe water and sanitation is a matter of health, equality, dignity, and the constitutional right to basic education.

“When learners have access to safe sanitation and clean water, they are better able to attend school consistently, participate fully in learning, and experience school environments that uphold their dignity,” Mbeki said. “Meaningful change requires both community participation and systemic accountability.”

While nationally reported school infrastructure backlogs show improvements on paper, Mbeki said Equal Education’s school visits reveal persistent challenges: 57% of schools visited in KwaZulu-Natal have unreliable water supply, and 86% lack handwashing facilities. Real spending on school infrastructure in the province has declined over the past decade despite ongoing backlogs.

Kagiso Trust’s Education Conversations series is a platform for open dialogue among education stakeholders, fostering collaborative thinking and contributing to policy development, transformation and sustainable progress in South Africa’s education landscape.

This month’s session reinforced a call for collective action to ensure that no learner is left behind. And it made clear that the link between dignity, opportunity and access to basic services remains central to South Africa’s contribution to the vision of a prosperous, integrated Africa set out in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 strategic framework and master plan.