Many govt schools lack water: NGO

Only 40 per cent of primary schools and 56 secondary schools in the country have a reliable supply of water, according to HakiElimu managing director John Kalage.

Mr Kalage said the critical shortage of water facing many schools had led to the young scholars spending more time fetching it instead of concentrating on studies. He revealed this at the weekend during the graduation ceremony at Mukulat Secondary School in drought prone Lemanyata Ward in Arumeru District. He said the education sector continues to face a host of challenges and that water scarcity, especially in schools located in rural areas, was one of the challenges that needed addressing urgently.

According to Mr Kalage, there was a shortage of 22,000 classroooms country-wide in government-owned primary and O-Level secondary schools.

HakiElimu donated Sh 20 million for a water supply project at the school located in North West of Mt. Meru, an area often hit by severe droughts due to insufficient rains. The cash was handed over to school head Vitalis Martin who revealed that the institution, which was established in 1995, has a total of 717 students. He lauded HakiElimu for the donation which he said would help the institution to tackle scarcity of water, one of the problems which had haunted it for years.