16 Jan 2025

Following a heavy down pour that lasted hours, the normally bustling Pandagala Junior Secondary School in Tutume was eerily silent Tuesday when the school was supposed to reopen for 2025 academic year.

Torrential rain, beginning Monday afternoon, transformed the school grounds into a ‘lake’, rendering it completely inaccessible.

Planned orientation for Form One pupils and their parents was abruptly cancelled due to flooding at the campus.

Describing the scene School head, Mr Boynyana Sewela,  said “the rain came down so hard and so fast. Within minutes, water was everywhere. Learners and parents were understandably panicked. We had to get everyone out.”

He said ten classrooms were completely flooded, rendering them unusable.

Mr Sewela said the school’s location on a sloping stream exacerbated the problem.
He said two teachers’ houses were also flooded. One of the teachers, whose house was flooded, Mr Gone Tobokwa, returned home to find his house flooded and car submerged.

“Everything on the floor was underwater,” he recounted, adding that only his laptop, perched on the sofa, escaped the deluge.

The school remains closed, with Ipelegeng workers and community members working to clear the mud and water from the classrooms. Mr Sewela highlighted the urgent need for a storm-water drainage system to prevent future incidents.

He said relocating the school, built in the 1990s, was not a viable option. Instead, he advocated for community action and the reinstatement of self-reliance initiatives to address the issue.

The two affected teachers will temporarily relocate to vacant staff housing, whilst reopening date remains uncertain. ENDS