By Yusuf Osuta.
Etoko Primary school, a government aided school in Maracha district had an enrollment of 1727 pupils with only 17 teachers in the 2024 academic year.
Staff have have expressed worrying concerns that the school may re-open without secure source of safe water for the pupils and teachers.
Ms. Eyeru Molly, a teacher in the school decried lack of access to safe water as children struggle with animals in consuming contaminated waters from the stream.
“At times we have to wake up very early in order to fetch the water from stream before animals come in day time to drink it”, Molly mentioned.
Adding, “there might be possibilities of children contracting waterborne diseases”.
The school has a borehole which is dysfunctional due to major technical breakdown amidst minor repairs every year.
Etoko primary school head teacher Mr Anguyo Richard attributed the routine technical faults to insufficient number of pipes installed in the Borehole.
Located in Paranga Sub-county, Maracha East Constituency in Maracha District, Etoko primary school having 17 teachers in total, not only faces challenges of water scarcity but it is also struggling with inadequate furniture (Desks, Tables and Chairs) as Teachers at the school resort to using old wooden Chairs that jiggle when sitting on them.
Another teacher at Etoko Primary school, Beatrice Angucia, who decried the poor furniture at the school noted that, the situation of inadequate furniture has forced most of the teachers in the school to come to school with chairs they can use for sitting while on duty at the school.
Speaking, “the dilemma of desks has made Pupils in the lower classes to sit on the floor, henceforth making it difficult for the teacher to move in the class when teaching them”.
Teachers want government and any other well wisher to intervene into the matter before the opening of schools in January 2025.