{"id":116438,"date":"2026-04-12T22:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T20:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo"},"modified":"2026-04-13T00:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T22:39:12","slug":"one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo","title":{"rendered":"One Toilet for 136 Learners and Teachers in Masvingo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>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 are dilapidated, making conditions even more dire.<\/p>\n

At Chikwanda Primary School, learners, teachers, and even adults are forced to use bush toilets, leaving human waste scattered around the grounds.<\/p>\n

Parents say dozens of workers from Sando Bricks (Brick by Brick Production), a company allegedly owned by Minister of State Security Lovemore Matuke, also use the school\u2019s only toilet.<\/p>\n

The chairperson of the Chikwanda School Development Committee, Samuel Mabwazvike, confirmed the situation in a telephone interview with the Masvingo Mirror.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have challenges but the biggest is on toilets. We have one toilet shared by pupils, teachers and workers from Matuke\u2019s brick moulding company,\u201d said Mabwazvike.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are happy that Matuke has drilled 10 squat holes. We currently have four teachers, three females and one male.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree of them commute daily from Masvingo to Chikwanda, and they spend about US$8 each day on transport, which is very costly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur married staff member is staying in accommodation we arranged for her, but the conditions are overcrowded. She shares the house with workers from the brick moulding company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe classroom block that is collapsing poses a serious risk to our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The classrooms, improvised from an old homestead, are described as a death trap. They have wide cracks, collapsed roofs, potholed floors, and windows without panes. Children are dismissed at the first sign of rain for fear of disaster.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

However, education administrators remain sceptical, saying that for the past five years, the Ministry has received no budget allocations beyond salaries. With the first quarter of 2026 already over, no funds have been released.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

A parent, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation, said Minister Matuke should intervene, given that his workers rely on the school\u2019s ablution facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis school is at the same place where Matuke has established a brick moulding company, and I wonder why, as a senior Government Minister, he is not moved by these disgusting conditions the children learn under here,\u201d the parent said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore baffling is that his workers share this overcrowded toilet with kids. We are not happy at all with a situation where men are using the same toilets with ECD and Grade 1 girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being alerted to the issue, Minister Matuke reportedly hung up the phone.<\/p>\n

One teacher is forced to handle ECD A, ECD B, and Grade 1 simultaneously in a single classroom, while another is responsible for both Grade 2 and Grade 3.<\/p>\n

Masvingo North MP Brian Mudhumi said that he will donate cement for toilet construction on Tuesday, while Matuke pledged to provide bricks.<\/p>\n

Progressive Teachers\u2019 Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said the Ministry must take stock of schools with crumbling infrastructure and design intervention measures to improve conditions.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Amalgamated Rural Teachers\u2019 Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure argued that the infrastructure deficit should have been resolved long ago if the Government had implemented the Nziramasanga Commission\u2019s recommendation to establish an education equalisation fund.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. 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 are dilapidated, making conditions even more dire. At Chikwanda Primary School, learners, teachers, and even adults are forced to use bush toilets, leaving human […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":116437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-116438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nOne Toilet for 136 Learners and Teachers in Masvingo - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A government-run school in Masvingo District is facing a serious health and humanitarian crisis, with 136 pupils and fou ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One Toilet for 136 Learners and Teachers in Masvingo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A government-run school in Masvingo District is facing a serious health and humanitarian crisis, with 136 pupils and fou ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-12T20:37:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-12T22:39:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776033536.222091.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"815\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"561\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"One Toilet for 136 Learners and Teachers in Masvingo\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-12T20:37:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-12T22:39:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo\"},\"wordCount\":598,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776033536.222091.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/one-toilet-for-136-learners-and-teachers-in-masvingo\",\"name\":\"One Toilet for 136 Learners and Teachers in Masvingo - 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