136 Learners, Teachers Share One Toilet At Government School In Masvingo
- Chipo Basira
- 13 Apr, 2026
136 Learners, Teachers Share One Toilet At Government School In Masvingo
A government-run school in Masvingo District is facing a serious health and humanitarian crisis, with 136 pupils and four teachers relying on a single squat hole-toilet.
The classrooms arefalling apart, with big cracks , broken roofs and no windows.
At Chikwanda Primary School, learners, teachers, and even adults are forced to use bush toilets, leaving human waste scattered around the grounds.
Parents say dozens of workers from Sando Bricks, a company allegedly owned by Minister of State Security Lovemore Matuke, also use the school's only toilet.
The chairperson of the Chikwanda School Development Committee, Samuel Mabwazvike, confirmed the situation.
"We have challenges, but the biggest is on toilets. We have one toilet shared by pupils, teachers, and workers from Matuke's brick moulding company," he said.
The school's infrastructure is in a state of disrepair, with classrooms having wide cracks, collapsed roofs, potholed floors, and windows without panes.
Children are dismissed at the first sign of rain for fear of disaster.
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Torerai Moyo said the Government is aware of such schools and pointed to a substantial allocation in the 2026 Financial Budget to address the problem.
However, education administrators remain sceptical.
Teachers at Chikwanda have no accommodation and commute daily from Masvingo for US$8.
Student teachers are forced to share housing with a security guard.
Just three teachers are responsible for nine classes, from ECD B to Grade 7.
A parent, who requested anonymity, said, "I wonder why, as a senior Government Minister, Matuke is not moved by these disgusting conditions the children learn under here. More baffling is that his workers share this overcrowded toilet with kids."
Masvingo North MP Brian Mudhumi said he will donate cement for toilet construction, while Matuke pledged to provide bricks. PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said the Ministry must take stock of schools with crumbling infrastructure and design intervention measures.
ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure argued that the infrastructure deficit should have been resolved long ago if the Government had implemented the Nziramasanga Commission's recommendation.
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