Learners at Tshitale school forced to relieve themselves in bushes due to no ablution facilities
When Gr 7 and 12 learners returned to Mainganye High School last Monday, proper hygiene in the fight against Covid-19 could not be practiced since the school does not have proper toilets.
LIMPOPO – Learners at Mainganye High School at Muwaweni in the Tshitale area are forced to relieve themselves in the bushes as a result of the dilapidated and dangerous state of ablution facilities. The ablution block is dilapidated and some classrooms are filled with cracks. The school was built by the community 40 years ago. There were two pit toilets for learners and teachers.
The Chairperson of the School Governing Body, Bernard Ramusilei said that mobile toilets and classrooms could alleviate the situation as the lack of toilets is a matter that requires urgent attention. There are dilapidated toilet structures meant for learners and toilets are open, with no walls or shelter. This leaves learners exposed to the public when they have to use the facilities.
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The other toilets have no doors, further compromising learners’ privacy. A bushy area within the schoolgrounds is littered with faeces as some learners choose to squat there for privacy’s sake, Ramusilei said. He said that some learners at the school prefer to use the toilets of residents who stay close to the school.
“Parents are worried and fear for their children’s lives. The department is aware of our plea as we have written a letter to them, requesting safer toilets. All we need is an ablution block and classes to accommodate our children. We have applied many times and have visited the department’s office in Polokwane since 2016, but our pleas have not yielded any fruit. A nation that does not invest in the education of its children is a dying nation,” he said.
One of the learners, Given Nevondwe said that during the rainy season, the toilets are flooded and the cracked walls can fall over any time. He said mobile toilets and classrooms could alleviate the situation as the lack of toilets is a matter that requires urgent attention. A parent, Christina Masia said that it was disappointing that after 26 years of democracy, children were still attending classes in the state that this school is in. “We called upon the department for an urgent intervention and to build toilets and classrooms for our children.”
The Department of Education Spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene said that there remained a huge backlog. “Many schools around the province were without proper toilets and classes,” she said.
Chuene added that they had already submitted a report to the relevant departments and were awaiting a response.
