School in dire need of library, books

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Tuesday 4th September, 2012

By PISAI GUMAR
BUGAZIM Primary School in Madang is in dire need of a library and books, the headmaster says.
Garial Waianding said the school also had water and sanitation problems in accommodating 14 teachers and 415 students during dry periods.
Waianding said since the establishment of the school almost 20 years ago, it had lacked a proper library and books to encourage students to read and learn.
 “As a level four school accommodating grades six, seven and eight, books are the pillar that enriches students learning but we are definitely lacking it,” he said.
The board intends to renovate an old classroom to turn it into a library but lacked funding.
Of the 14 staff, nine live in bush materials houses and four in semi-permanent houses.
“Both the teachers and students are prone to typhoid as we have a critical water and sanitation problem,” he said.
The AusAID-funded bore water pump built in 2005 is no longer in use. Water is fetched by using a pot tied to a rope at the end of a stick.
The school has four tuffa tanks for use by students, with teachers using a nearby creek for washing.