Plateau: 71 Years Without Toilets – School, Community Battle Diseases

The Pilot Science Primary School, Kwall is said to be one of the best and oldest government-owned primary schools in the entire Irigwe chiefdom of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State. It was established in 1946.

However, 71 years after it was established without a toilet facility, pupils and teachers of the school have created alternative ways of answering nature’s call. Students and staff find succor in using nearby bushes.

Kwall is located about 50km from Jos city, and the school, which is situated in the Klancha area of the town, is positioned three to four kilometers off Kwall junction, along a bumpy untarred road.

There are two major spots the pupils use for open defecation: a bushy area behind the school building, known as ‘garden’ and another spot behind the rocks that surround a huge baobab tree.

Few meters from the baobab tree oozes a stench that makes it uncomfortable to stay in that area.

There is a tree behind the slope, and members of the community told Daily Trust on Sunday that during the rainy season, the rains wash down all the filth into a water canal behind the tree that serves as the main source of water for people and animals in the community.

Our correspondent who visited Kwall gathered that a 2010 renovation of the school had made it the pride of most parents in the area. Nevertheless, not a single block had been set aside for the construction of toilets.

 

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Plateau: 71 Years Without Toilets – School, Community Battle Diseases

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