Classroom collapses, kills 1

One boy has died and two others were injured after a classroom wall fell on them at Fumbi Primary School in Futsa Education Zone in Mwanza on Wednesday.

Mwanza district commissioner (DC) Francis Matewere in an interview said Livison Enock, seven, who was  in Standard One, was pronounced dead on arrival at Tulonkhondo Health Centre while the other two, Standard Three pupil Maliko Fositala, 10,  and Mark Masitoni, six, in Standard 1 are receiving treatment at Mwanza District hospital.

“The two learners are in stable condition,” he said.

Matewere said the learners were passing near the classroom wall at break time when they met their fate. It was not known at the time of press what had caused the wall to collapse.

The DC commended hospital staff, teachers and community members for their support towards the accident victims.

This is not the first time learners have been affected by collapsing structures in public schools.

In January this year, 11 learners were rushed to hospital after a roof of their makeshift classroom collapsed at M’buka Primary School in Lilongwe’s Area 36 Township.

The school head teacher Jefferson Tsamba claimed at the time that the corrugated iron sheet roof standing on metal bars, collapsed due to ‘unruly’ children who regularly shake the structure when playing.

And in June last year, four pupils died and 16 others were injured when a classroom wall fell on them at Nantchengwa Primary School in Zomba.

In 2003, Mkomachi Primary School in Lilongwe also had its share of horror when a tree under which learners were learning, collapsed and killed some in the process.

According to Civil Society Education Coalition, the country has a deficit of 27 000 classrooms.