06 Mar 2014

The spilling of sewerage tanks has disrupted school activities at Kgosimpe Junior Secondary School forcing the school management to adjust the school time table and release students earlier than usual.

Speaking in an interview, the school head, Ms Sennana Ntesang, said the spill started last week but only got worse in the last two days, thus forcing the school management to relocate two form three classes to the school hall and the computer lab.

She explained that, after consultation with the relevant authorities, they came to an agreement to release students at lunch time, saying the smell gets worse in the afternoon.

“This is a challenge because it is disturbing students’ studies as well as the school activities that contribute to student’s welfare,” Ms Ntesang said, adding that the relocation of students to the computer lab has in turn disrupted computer awareness lessons; hence students will remain behind.

She also explained the sewerage spill had also affected the normal independent study by students as it has been halted. “This means that students will have less time to study, especially those who will be sitting for their Junior Certificate Examinations, the school head lamented.

The chief education officer for Jwaneng/Mabutsane region, Mr David Rabana said they were hopeful that the situation would soon go back to normal as Water Utilities has promised to control the problem.

However, he said in the meantime, his office was monitoring the situation closely, stressing that the school would not be closed but if it comes to that situation, extensive consultation with all stakeholders will be carried out.

In response, the water works superintendent at WUC, Mr Ditiro Mogotlhwane explained that the spill was due to the blockage of the sewage main line in the residential area of Unit 5, therefore the waste that was supposed to flow to the pump station spilled back to the school.

He said that as a way of managing the situation in the school, the corporation was currently draining the sewage on the surface, after which they will use chemicals to clean the surface as well as sweet ordours to cleanse the air.

He explained that they were still awaiting a machine from their head office in Gaborone, which will help in unblocking the sewage main line pumps, saying that they suspect the blockage to have been caused by accumulated soil.

Mr Mogotlhwane explained that they were currently facing a challenge with their pumps as some were damaged, but as a temporary measure, they were rotating pumps from one place to another in a bid to control the sewage system.

He pleaded with the residents of Jwaneng to be patient and tolerant to the noise caused by the sewage trucks in their efforts to drain the sewage and avoid spill. Ends