Seven Universal Primary Education schools in Nakasongola have closed prematurely and pupils ordered to go back to their homes due to lack of toilets.
Some of the schools’ toilets were swept away by flash floods while others were filled up.
The closed schools include Kigarambi, Busone, Moone, Rwampanga, Kyakadoko, Zengebe and Kyamuyingo primary schools located in Rwampanga and Rwabyata sub counties. The schools were supposed to close the third term on December 2nd but they ended the term on November 18th sending more than 2000 pupils back home until next term.
The Nakasongola district Education Officer, George William Kajura says that the schools were closed prematurely to save the pupils, teachers and the community from a possible outbreak of diseases that include cholera and diarrhoea over lack of toilets.
Kajura explained that parents petitioned the district to intervene and reconstruct the toilets but they were financially incapacitated to respond. The district needs 170 million shillings to construct new toilets.
//Cue in: “The schools had problems………
Cue out:……when new year’s term open’’//
Kajura adds that they have started mobilizing the parents to team up and contribute part of the needed funds as the government responds to the matter.
But William Lubega, a parent at Rwampanga primary school says government should intervene and construct the toilets, adding that parents have no money to do that.
He explained that even the parents in the area lost toilets in the same floods and they are still battling to reconstruct them using their meager resources which may make the contribution to school toilets impossible.
