More than 20 students of Vatuvula Primary School on Udu have been using the outdoors as toilets for a year now because of water problems.
Raising this concern, teacher Semi Maku said the school, which serves two villages in Udu, has been relying on rainwater since March last year.
“Our water source, the borehole, has stopped functioning,” Mr Maku said.
This has denied students access to safe and clean drinking water in school.
“To avoid this, the teachers have been advising students to bring a bottle of water each to school,” he said.
Mr Maku said despite attempts by Water Authority of Fiji personnel to fix the problem, the borehole has been unable to meet the school’s water demands.
“It was originally constructed in 2017 by the previous government. The borehole does not belong to the school but to a nearby village.”
In response, Lands Minister Filimoni Vosarogo said a team was dispatched to assess the situation.
“The ministry plans to conduct a thorough cleaning of the borehole,” he said.
