Home | News | HUNGRY PUPIL COLLAPSES

HUNGRY PUPIL COLLAPSES

11/07/2017 01:07:00 BY JOSEPH ZULU

Font size:

PIGG’S PEAK – The shortage of food in schools will eventually do more harm than just hunger.

Peak Central High (PCH) School is one of the many schools which have run out of food. The situation is so serious that a pupil collapsed during morning assembly due to hunger. PCH had been providing breakfast for pupils but this changed after they ran out of food in June.

Mandla Mncina, the head teacher at the school, revealed that the situation was so dire that he feared it would affect the performance of the pupils during their exams. He said one may think school administrators were exaggerating the situation but that it was a very serious one.

Mncina also confirmed that a pupil had collapsed due to hunger but that he eventually recovered. “Those were symptoms of hunger,” said the head teacher.
He said the school had been providing breakfast for pupils, as many of them could not get any food from home. “They rely on the food they get from school,” said Mncina. He said the school now had also run out of beans, which they normally feed the pupils. Mncina said from today pupils could be feeding on cabbage, which will be more affordable for the school.

Some of the pupils at PCH revealed that they actually did not live with their parents but rented rooms at nearby townships. They said the only meal they were guaranteed to have was the one they got from school during lunchtime. “In the past, it was easy to have breakfast and lunch and then not to worry about supper but the situation has changed,” said some of the pupils whose names will not be revealed.

Mncina confirmed that the situation was very serious among some of the pupils. He also noted that some of the pupils rented rooms in nearby townships but that they were unable to purchase food. “They rely on the school’s feeding scheme,” said Mncina.

He said the school had not only run out of food but that they did not have enough money to purchase extra food.
Mncina said the school had now shifted lunch an hour earlier to accommodate pupils who did not have breakfast. He said should the situation continue this week, it will be very dire and wondered if the pupils will be able to continue learning.