Euthini Secondary School in Mzimba has sealed flush toilets due to lack of water.
Head teacher Crescent Kapira told The Nation that they have improvised pit latrines which he said cannot be drained due to the same problem.
Kapira disclosed this on Tuesday when Euthini Alumni visited the school to donate 184 books worth K500 000.
Said Kapira: “The situation is bad here. We sealed all toilets in hostels because we do not have water.
“We have improvised pit latrines, but the problem now is that we are draining these latrines manually by digging a hole behind them due to the same problems of lack of water. We cannot even hire a machine to drain solid waste because it is expensive.”
He said female students are the most affected, especially when they want to visit the toilet at night.
He said the institution depends on boreholes and pump to draw water from underground to storage tanks.
He said the problem now is that the water table has gone down and they are unable to pump water for storage.
Kapira, however, said well-wishers have come in to help them with K8 million to buy a better water pump and renovate the storage tanks.
Northern Region education division manager Pauper Mkandawire said, his office is aware about the water challenges at the institution, which he said recur every year due to low water table.
He said they provided the school with a new water pump last year to address the challenge.
