MANZINI – Classes had to take a break at Ngwenyameni Primary School, as over 60 pupils were yesterday suffering from stomach ache, which was suspected to be caused by food poisoning.
The pupils of the school, which is located on the mountains of Luyengweni in the Manzini Region, were said to have started complaining of stomach aches from Tuesday. It was said more pupils reported experiencing abdominal pains yesterday, such that the administration of the school had to inform guardians of the learners about the development.
It was gathered from sources that the decision to stop the pupils from buying snacks emanated from suspicions that some of the snacks may have been contaminated.
Some sources claimed that some of the packets of snacks had a substance which they suspected to be either ink or a high amount of colourant. The source said the suspicion was that the high volume of the ink or colourant could have resulted in the pupils suffering from stomach ache. Also, some parents who contacted this publication expressed frustration that some of the minors who were turned back home had no access to health facilities.
Medication
They claimed that given that Ngwenyameni Primary was a rural school, some of the learners resided with grandparents, who could not afford to get medication for them. They supposed that an effort to get emergency healthcare had fallen off, as paramedics had informed them that they did not have vehicles to attend to them.
When a visit was paid to the school around noon yesterday, pupils were found in the assembly square, wherein the head teacher was informing them that that they should stop buying snacks.
It was also gathered that the school had informed the pupils that they would be offered consent forms to be signed by their guardians in order for them to be de-wormed on Monday. Meanwhile, the head teacher of the school requested that this publication contact the office of the Manzini Regional Education Officer (REO), Sizwe Kunene, for details on the matter.
Officers
Kunene confirmed that the school had reported that about 65 pupils had suffered from stomach ache at the school. He said the cause was still unknown; however, the Manzini regional health officers had visited the school to administer first aid. “The regional health officers went to the school where they treated some of the learners. They are to return to establish the cause of the stomach ache,” Kunene said. Furthermore, he said some of the pupils had already left the school with their guardians when the officers from the health department arrived.
On the other hand, it was gathered that vendors selling their wares at the school had been requested by the administration to suspend the sale of snacks for two weeks. This, it was said, would assist in establishing if the suspected snacks were the real cause of the learners suffering from stomach ache.
