The department said in a written answer on a question tabled in parliament – that a total of 153 schools in the Free State, Northern Cape and North West do not have adequate sanitation. No schools in these provinces, however, reported a lack of water or electricity. 

The department says according to its regulations relating to Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for public school infrastructure, all schools across the country should reach optimum functionality by 2030. 

To address the backlog, provinces can apply for a conditional grant, but the department emphasised that only those identified for intervention will qualify.
 
·        In the Free State, a total of 749 schools lack laboratories and 431 do not have libraries. The audit, however, shows that all primary and high schools have access to the internet.  
·        In the Northern Cape, a total of 405 schools do not have laboratories and learners in 254 schools do not have access to libraries.
·        A total of 1 120 schools in North West are without laboratories and 883 do not have libraries.
·        A lack of sports facilities in schools across Central South Africa were found at 804 primary and secondary schools.  

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