Gauteng’s children must carry on learning in toxic asbestos-heavy schools
The Gauteng government will not be able to eradicate all schools constructed entirely from asbestos in the province at once, although it will be building 34 new schools over the medium term, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi says. Gauteng education was allocated R40.8bn of the province’s R108bn budget for the 2017 financial year. The province’s education department identified 29 schools made entirely of asbestos that had to be replaced by the deadline at the time. But another 215 schools made partially of asbestos were identified, to which the norms and standards deadlines did not apply. Under apartheid, the roofs of homes and other buildings in Gauteng’s townships were built from locally made, corrugated asbestos cement sheets. The sheets are dangerous when inhaled as they do not decompose and remain permanently lodged in the lungs, which can lead to fatal diseases. This is why it is banned in construction in many countries, including the UK. Some of the school children attending asbest...
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