Cape Town – The National Freedom Plus (NFP) is the latest political party to react to the Department of Basic Education’s proposal of unisex toilets at schools.
A document outlining the Department of Basic Education’s guidelines for gender inclusivity, proposes giving gender non-conforming students a place in South African schools.
The document also proposes gender neutral uniform colours, to allow gender non-conforming students options in the way they dress.
The unisex toilet proposal is just one of the proposals in the document, which according to the NFP, is a push by the Department of Basic Education to introduce it – and spend money – when it has failed to meet its own basic standards in delivering quality education to all South Africans.
“This suggestion is preposterous. Currently, we still have children using pit latrines, poor infrastructure at schools, and four out of every 10 children who start Grade 1 not finishing Grade 12,” the party said.
“Instead of focusing on these issues, the department wants to tackle obscure issues. The minister has a skewed set of priorities,” said NFP Leader in Parliament, Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam.
The NFP encouraged the department to focus on quality education, more sporting infrastructure and preparing learners for tertiary education
“We currently have 60% of students who start TVET colleges dropping out in their first year. One of the main reasons is the poor education offered in primary and secondary schools,” said Shaik Emam.
“We have to question the minister’s motivation. Is this a means to cover up the fact that they have failed to provide adequate toilets to learners generally? So instead of building two sets of toilets, they want to build only one?”
The NFP also found fault with the proposed document insofar as it concerns the latest adolescent pregnancy data from Statistics SA, which reveals that 90 037 girls aged 10 to 19 gave birth from March 2021 to April 2022.
“Unisex toilets provide just another venue for teenagers to engage in sexual activity. The minister has said she is attending to the problem of teenage pregnancies, yet she is making it worse with her outlandish suggestions.”
The NFP is not the only political party that has raised its eyebrows at the proposal document. Previously, the Freedom Front + weighed in on the issue.
“The general opinion is that every person is a free-floating individual who has a choice in everything – and in this case, even their gender.
“According to radical individualism, community norms restrict the individual – self-fulfilment can only be achieved once those norms are abolished.
“Moreover, the only appropriate response from the family and members of the community is to support the individual's choices.”
Department of Basic Education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, has welcomed the debate as he believes that it highlights the key social issues facing schools.
“The discussion is encouraged as it also helps extract input albeit informally from a broad range of South Africans.
“The department’s view is that all schools should make learners feel welcome at all times. If the physical environment needs to be reviewed, that should also be considered, especially if the objective is to make access to education easier in an environment where prejudices and discrimination is eliminated.
“The department is facilitating discussions on a wide range of issues regarding gender identity and related issues. The matter is at a very early stage and we therefore call for calm.
“The time for public participation will come and all members of the public will get an opportunity to comment formally in the process.”