School Infrastructure Acceleration: Eliminating Inappropriate Structures

Theme: school_infrastructure

Description

The Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI), launched in 2011 under the Artisan Development Programme and managed by the DBE through the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG), was designed to replace all schools built from inappropriate materials (mud, asbestos, wood) and to address the most critical backlogs in sanitation, water, and electricity provision. As of 2024, approximately 800 inappropriate structures remain across Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo—down from an original list of 3,116—despite R5.6 billion in EIG allocations since 2011. The slow progress (averaging 150–200 schools replaced per year) reflects: procurement failures within provincial education departments, disputes over school sites (particularly in rural areas with traditional authority land), the community disruption of school relocation during construction, and contractor performance failures. The reform proposes: direct DBE management of remaining ASIDI schools (bypassing under-performing provincial implementing agents), a dedicated contractor performance management unit, and an accelerated 3-year completion target. The PC on Basic Education's BRRRs 2020–2024 document annual slippage on ASIDI targets despite available budget.

Related Reforms in Package