Learners at a primary school in Mangochi are facing a lot of challenges in scarcity of toilet rooms around school premises which forces them to opt for nearby bushes.
At Nampinguja Primary School in Mangochi South East over 1,000 female learners rely on one toilet which is often unhygienic due to day-to-day overuse.
A standard seven learner at the school, Khadija Usi says the development is affecting their education as some of the girls choose to stay away from school usually when menstruating, while others opt for bushes to escape the stench in the lone toilet.
‘’ There are also times when the toilet is always busy .It is not always possible to wait and the bushes become the last resort,’’ khadija said.
She also said that learners whose homes are closer to school rush there when they want to relieve themselves which is a very big problem to them.
The school head teacher Edina Maulidi is worried that, as girls miss classes due to sanitation challenges, poverty levels will continue to rise in areas surrounding the school.
Her supplications go to well-wishers who can assist with materials for the school committee to construct more toilets.
