Erongo school sanitation crisis deepens as 16 pupils hospitalised

 One pupil in critical condition
 No flushing toilets for a year
 16 pupils hospitalised with diarrhoea and vomiting
 Second school to be hit with hygiene crisis

Two hundred and seventy nine pupils from !Oe#Gab Primary School at the Tubusis settlement in the Erongo region were sent home on Friday after 16 of them were hospitalised due to an ongoing sanitation crisis.

One of the pupils is in critical condition at the Usakos State Hospital while others have been discharged, The Namibian has been informed.
The school accommodates grades 1 to 7.

Speaking to The Namibian last week a staff member at the school said 16 pupils were hospitalised, however, the school allegedly refused to inform the parents.

“The pupils have been having diarrhoea and vomiting,” the employee said on condition of anonymity.

The school, which has been operating without running water and dysfunctional toilets for close to a year, has been closed indefinitely after parents called on the regional education office to take action.

A school employee says pupils have been defecating in the open for months, and are sometimes forced to pick up their own faeces to discard them.

School principal Bernard Geingob last week declined to comment, referring The Namibian to Erongo region education director Ernfriede Stephanus.

Stephanus, who said she was aware of the situation after the parents lodged a complaint, did not revert after informing The Namibian she would visit the school on Thursday before commenting further.

Minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp, who said she was only informed about the crisis last week, described the situation as ‘disgusting’, saying such conditions are unhygienic for pupils.

“I would have removed my child too,” she said on Friday, adding that the school’s decision not to inform parents about their children being hospitalised was unacceptable.

“It shows me a lack of interest. What would have been so wrong for the school to take ownership and explain the situation to parents? I am deeply disappointed and I apologise to the parents for putting trust in us, the leaders,” she said.

She said no matter how unpleasant something is, leaders should take charge and correct their mistakes.
“This issue has disturbed my spirit,” Steenkamp said.

The minister expressed anger over the school’s condition, saying she received no reports about inspections conducted at the school.
“I am so disappointed because the inspector apparently did various inspections, however, the report never reached me.”

She noted that there will be a cleaning campaign at the school and construction of a dining hall and toilets will begin soon, ensuring a safe environment for pupils to return to.

She added that the ministry will work together with the Namibia Water Corporation to ensure the school is provided with clean and safe water.

“There are 279 pupils but there is no proper water. Education cannot be provided alone and as leaders we have to take part,” she said.

Some parents anonymously told The Namibian last week that they wanted their children removed from the school because it failed to protect the children and inform their guardians.

In a video seen by The Namibian, the school environment and hostel conditions appear to be unfavourable and unsafe.

With only a month left before examinations begin, parents and community members have called for urgent interventions for pupils to return to school.

“Although it will affect the children’s education, we are left with no option but to take action.

If the children do not leave the school, they may fall ill while writing examinations and end up failing,” a parent said.

Another parent from Windhoek says she had to travel to the Erongo region to pick up her daughter who is in Grade 3.
“The school did not inform us that our children were in hospital.

We had to hear it from a staff member at the school who said she was not allowed to inform us.

This is negligence on the school’s part.”
School coordinator Joseph Komeni says all the pupils have left the school and parents will be informed when they can return once the situation is resolved.

Community member Habasen Guriras says the government must provide the school with mobile toilets, or it should be closed until ablution blocks have been built.

A RECURRING PROBLEM

The !Oe#Gab Primary School is the second state school in less than a month where children have been hospitalised due to unhygienic conditions.

On 31 August, The Namibian reported that 125 pupils from Maria Mwengere Secondary School hostel in the Kavango East region were hospitalised due to contaminated water.

Steenkamp recently informed parliament that reports circulated on social media of pupils being rushed to Rundu State Hospital due to suspected food poisoning.

She said an investigation report revealed that the hostel’s water storage tank contained chlorine levels of 2.2 mg/L, which is above the safe standards for human consumption.

“The water in these tanks also showed some visible discolouration, indicating contamination.

In the absence of any formal communication to the school to stop the usage of water from the contaminated water storage tanks, the contaminated water in the water tank is possibly the primary contributor to the outbreak,” the minister said.

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