School needs K400,000 to upgrade facilities: Chairman

By EREBIRI ZURENUOC
DREGERHAFEN Secondary School in Finschhafen will need K400,000 to upgrade its rundown facilities and other infrastructures to be able to accept students next month, an official says.
Chairman of the school’s board of governing council Bussim Stoessel said a stakeholders’ meeting on Saturday had resolved that the school had not reached the required 80 per cent recommendations set under a health inspection report on November 26.
“The school has been delayed by a week (this week) because we need to cover all areas of health issues before students can begin the 2019 academic year,” he said.
“We have been given K100,000 emergency grants from the Finschhafen district development authority but it cannot cover all the health recommendations.
“Some of the infrastructures we have partly completed are a 80-man dormitory, extension of three dormitories for the boys, 12 pit toilets and fixing the sewerage system.”
According to the health inspection report from the district health services, environmental health officer Silven Umbi outlined the health defects in the girl and boys dormitory areas, the mess area and staff houses.
Stoessel said for those infrastructures, drainage and plumbing, pit toilet issues and deteriorating facilities and equipment were some of the main issues due to overcrowding.
“To address 80 per cent of the recommendations for the health defects, it would cost the school about K200,000 more as the total cost to complete the infrastructure upgrade will be more than K500,000,” he said.