Civil Engineering December 2022 | Vol 30 No 11

Civil Engineering  December 2022 13 Education D Public ordinary schools There are 22 740 public schools with infrastructure that varies from very good in the more a uent locations to barely t for purpose in impoverished communities. The total number of schools is decreasing due to the closing of smaller schools. In Gauteng and the Western Cape the school number is growing due to urban migration. While some progress has been made on improving school facilities, many are not well maintained and are out of order. Improvement programmes routinely miss targets and available budgets are not fully utilised. Reliability of water and electricity supply in schools remains poor. Theft, malicious damage to property and arson remain signi cant threats to overcoming the backlogs in both public schools and higher education centres. The 26 public universities, mostly located in major urban areas, host 1.1 million students. The 50 public TVET colleges have 700 000 students on 364 campuses spread across various towns and cities. Each province also has a Continuing Education and Training college with satellite centres. The steady increase in student intake places a severe burden on infrastructure at institutions of higher education. However, well-funded infrastructure support programmes introduced by the Department of Higher Education from 2017 are bearing fruit, evidenced by the improved condition of existing infrastructure, and the addition of new facilities, especially student accommodation. The Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on higher education institutions, delaying infrastructure maintenance and expansion and redirecting funds to ICT requirements. C+ Universities D+ Technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges Information and communication technology (new) B Most businesses and households depend on information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. In 2020, 74.1% of households had access to the internet. ICT infrastructure, although dependent on some public infrastructure sector services (particularly electricity supply), is almost exclusively owned by the private sector. Dependent as they are on this infrastructure for their income stream, the owners have every incentive to strive for it to be functioning at all times. This condition is supported by high maintenance standards and a continual cycle of investment. Overall grade D With the notable exception of energy generation, South Africa’s economic infrastructure remains in a satisfactory (or better) condition. However, social infrastructure continues to deteriorate. Crime and non-payment for services as well as weak institutions lacking appropriate skills and accurate data have contributed towards a further decline in the overall condition of infrastructure since the last SAICE Infrastructure Report Card. 11