Learners in schools Kiteny Sub County in Kitgum district will have to carry water to school when they resume studies tomorrow.
The sub-county authorities resolved this following an assessment of the state of the schools in the area, which showed that none of the six schools has a functional water source. The schools are Ludum Oyere, Kwarayo, Morongole, Ladotonen, Lalekan, and Lokoropwac primary schools.
Clean and adequate water is a prerequisite for school reopening since it is key in enforcing the Standard Operating Procedures such as handwashing to contain the spread of COVID-19. Alfred Okema, the Kiteny Sub County LC III Chairperson told URN on Saturday that only Lokoropwac primary school has a functional borehole.
Okema explained that the other schools have neither boreholes nor piped water as they were using giant tanks to harvest rainwater. He, however, says that vandals destroyed all the water tanks during the nearly two years of school closure as part of the COVID-19 containment measures.
He says that the education department and area leadership have now agreed and directed that each learner carries five liters of water to school for drinking and personal hygiene as they work on the crisis.
Monica Acan, a parent in the area who is in support of the directive, says that the situation has worsened because of the dry season. She explains that some learners will be forced to get water from the school neighborhood because the liters might not be enough for the whole day.
Christopher Arwai Obol, the Kitgum district LC V Chairperson, said that they are aware of the problems, adding that they intend to seek alternatives through the district water department to ensure that water is available in the respective schools.
Kitgum district work plan for the financial year 2022/2023 shows that only three boreholes will be drilled in the different areas.
