A burnt pump caused the water shortage at the West Demerara Secondary School and the ensuing insanitary conditions but the problem is being rectified, a senior official at the educational institution says.
The official would not comment further except to say that “the problem is being looked after”. The official would not say how long the school had been experiencing the problem but stated that the pump had burnt last week.
However, the parent of a student, who wrote a letter to this newspaper, said that the situation has been ongoing for a year and a half now. He said that in the latter part of last year, his 14-year-old daughter expressed “the trauma she and all the female students experience on a daily basis of having no water at the Ablution Block, no water at the sink to wash their hands five days a week during the school terms”.
Even though he contacted and wrote to education and regional officials, the situation did not change, he said.
Students say it is a smelly situation. “It’s nasty”, one fifth form student told Stabroek News. She said that since the start of the school term, there was no running water in their washroom. However, she added that occasionally there was water but only a couple of times a week and sometimes they fetched from a tap at the front of the school. Most times, however there is not enough to flush the toilets, she said. She stated that in September, for about two to three days, the toilets had worms in them and many times these are not flushed, and only the floor is wiped.
According to the student, she does not use the facility because it “doesn’t smell good”.
She said that there are twelve toilets for the female student population. About 500 children attend the school, a teacher said. For some time the school had been experiencing problems with a reliable water supply, several students pointed out noting that it was only occasionally water came through the pipes. According to the students currently they bring their own water from home.
One male student said that because of limited water, their washroom is not clean and they do not use it. He told Stabroek News that sometimes they fetch water from a well.
He added that there was a tank that would store rainwater and this would be used sometimes.
Meantime, several fifth form students told this newspaper that earlier this week they wrote a letter to the Headmistress outlining several issues of concern including the toilets, electricity and overflowing bins. They said that on Thursday, they met with her and she explained that the pump had burned and she would try her best to have it fixed.
They explained that in almost all the fifth form classrooms, there was no electricity but the Head Teacher promised to have this fixed by today.
