No water at school for 6 months
‘Teachers waste time travelling to access toilets’
● Pupils forced to answer call of nature in the yard
● Department alleged to have ignored pleas for help
Pupils at an Ekurhuleni school relieve themselves in the yard, and their teachers travel for two kilometres to use toilets.
Bekekayo Intermediate School in Bapsfontein has been without water for the past six months, leaving the pupils and educators unable to use the 20 toilets at the premises.
The school accommodates 260 pupils from grades 1-7, and eight teachers. It has been without water since a borehole pump broke in November last year.
“We have written countless letters to the district pleading with them to fix the pump because the current condition is putting the health of the pupils in danger,” said a teacher who asked not to be named for fear of losing his job.
“Sometimes the stench gets too much so that we have to close the windows.”
He said they relied on periodical drop-off water tanks from the municipality for drinking water.
The teacher also said the school was accruing unnecessary expenses, as it had to purchase water from neighbouring households to sustain the feeding scheme.
“Nowhere in the country will you find a school that runs without water,” the teacher said.
He said they travelled daily to the nearest garage, two kilometres away, to use their toilets.
“The children are behind with their studies because teachers waste time travelling to access toilets.”
When Sowetan visited the school on Friday, there was human waste behind classrooms and no running water.
There was an unbearable stench from the dirty flushing toilets, with faeces on the floor.
A 13-year-old girl in Grade 7 said the situation was so bad that in the past some of them were asked by teachers to bring water from home.
“Some of us brought 25 litres with a school bus from home to ensure the feeding scheme staff had water to cook.”
Simon Malindisa, who lives a street away from the school, said when the weather was hot they could not even eat their food with their windows open due to the smelling toilets.
“I feel sorry for those children who study in such a horrible environment.
“Every school hour we witness pupils emptying their waste in the back yard,” he said.
“Two weeks ago, a caretaker killed two snakes behind the classrooms where the children help themselves.”
According to a concerned parent, who wished to remain anonymous, they had asked the school principal to write to the department. He said he did and he wasn’t getting any positive feed back.
Gauteng department of education spokesman, Steve Mabona, said they were not aware of the situation.
“The department will be dispatching a team on Monday [today] to investigate the water problem at the school, and get to the bottom of it,” he said.