Despatch Primary School in the Eastern Cape has been driven to desperate lengths by ongoing water woes‚ which have seen its school day cut in half and pupils urged to bring water from home.
Last week marked the first time since the start of the school year that the 1‚019 pupils experienced water flowing from the school taps.
Acting deputy principal Cecil de Bruin said the school was also forced to send pupils home after first break due to the unhygienic conditions.
He said the sporadic water supply at the Reservoir Hills school was an ongoing problem dating back several years‚ which peaked last year with almost 40 days of each quarter ending early on account of no water.
Since the beginning of the school year‚ pupils in neighbouring suburbs including Daleview and Khayamnandi have been asked to bring water by bucket from home.
“We have written to the municipality a number of times and on Tuesday [last week] was the first form of assistance we received. They lent us two Jojo tanks to use‚” De Bruin said.
“However‚ there is no connection equipment with them so . . . we can’t use them.”
The Herald
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