Poor maintenance cited for sewer spillage at Orange Farm school

Poor maintenance appears to have been the cause of a sewerage spill that led to Nomini Primary School in Orange Farm being shut down by parents last week.

The school is set to reopen on Monday after the Gauteng department of education stepped in to help fix the problem.

Pupils were unable to attend classes due to the poor conditions of ablution facilities caused by damage to the sewerage system. Many of the toilets are damaged and do not flush while one bathroom has no taps at all.

According to a school governing body member Khensani Masango, the problem can be attributed to tree roots wrapping themselves around the pipes, causing damage to the internal sewerage system.

A cleaner at the school, who wanted to remain anonymous, described the horrible conditions she had to work under because of the toilet blockages.

“I have to take buckets of water to flush the toilets after school and in between classes.”

“I put Vicks Vapo Rub under my nose to ward off the smell of the bathrooms,” she said.

Gauteng department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona said they are aware of problem which started in the third term last year.

“The department has appointed a contractor to firstly pump the overflow out of the area to be able to dig and gain access to the sewer line. This will then be followed by cutting the roots out and then replacing old and worn out vitrified clay pipes with PVC pipes,” Mabona said.