504 pupils sit on the floor due to shortage of desks

Mbeya. At least 504 pupils out of 1,068 at Hanseshelo Primary School in Iganjo Ward, Mbeya Region, study on the floor due to a shortage of school desks.

The situation has been a discomfort to both the pupils and their teachers, who face difficulties in teaching due to congestions of the pupils in classrooms.

Sela Mbuba, who is a Standard Four teacher at the school, admitted yesterday that they found it hard to teach due to the situation, but said they would try as much as they could to teach the pupils as they had nothing to do.

“As you can see for yourself how the pupils are congested in this Standard Four classroom that accommodates 180 pupils to the extent that I have no space to step my feet when I teach.

“This also makes me fail to apply the teaching techniques as the number of pupils is huge to make them sit on the floor due to a shortage of school desks,” said teacher Mbuba.

Macmunussy Njegite, who is the school’s academic teacher, said the school was facing a number of challenges including a shortage of latrines for both teachers and the pupils, school desks and dilapidated classrooms.

Njegite explained that the situation forced the pupils to sit on the potholed floor when they were studying.

‘The environment of our school is so bad as we have a total of 1,068 pupils while the number of the available desks is 328, having a shortage of 496 desks.

“The situation forces over 500 pupils to sit on the floor all the time of their studies in classrooms and psychologically it affects both a pupil and a teacher, who feels bad teaching a pupil, who sits on the dust floor  and the situation is worse in the school latrines,” said Njegite.

Speaking to the school pupils, teachers, parents and guardians, Deputy Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson, who visited the school to which she donated 100 bags of cement, said education-wise it was not healthy to see pupils learn in unfriendly environs.

She called upon both the parents and guardians to iron out their differences and instead get united over the issue of education development so that to create a generation of more educated people.

“My brothers and sisters, we at Tulia Trust have donated 100 bags of cement. I have seen for myself how congestions of pupils are in classrooms as most of them learn while sitting on the potholed floor that is full of dust.

“So, as Tulia Trust we start with the making of school desks as soon as possible,” said Dr Ackson.