Sindh assembly members on Monday stressed that clean water should be supplied to government schools to save the schoolchildren from waterborne diseases, besides which proper washrooms should be provided to schools, especially the girls’ schools.
They raised these points on supplementary questions to a question posed by Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi where she highlighted that 41 students and three teachers had fallen unconscious after drinking poisonous water in government primary school Saleh Pat near Sukkur in June 2013.
However, Education Minister Nisar Khuhro said that it was an old matter and the hand-pump of the school in question was replaced, and now there is no such complaint.
However, the members pointed out that there are a lot of such government schools that do not have proper water supply and facilities of washrooms. They stressed that water and washroom facilities be provided to girls’ schools on priority.
When a member asked what the disease due to which 41 students was and three teachers had fallen unconscious, the speaker in a lighter mood observed that the disease was the faulty hand-pump of that school, which was removed and replaced.
When one member asked if the doctors recruited by the government to serve in schools attended their duties or are called from their homes when emergencies arise in schools, the minister said they do not attend the schools, and have to be summoned when needed.