Water crisis cripples learning at Nalerigu SHS as students abandon night studies to search for water

Nalerigu Senior High School students say a month-long water crisis has brought night studies to a standstill, forcing many of them to spend their evenings searching for water instead of preparing for their examinations. The students state the school's water supply system has been out of service for nearly a month, leading them to trek into the Nalerigu township and nearby streams for water. A Form Two student said, "We hardly have time to study at night because we spend most of our evenings looking for water. By the time we return to campus, we are too tired to read."

The crisis has also exposed female students to harassment while searching for water outside the school, with one student stating, "For instance, they keep giving me their telephone numbers and asking me to call them. I don't want to take the numbers, but I'm forced to because I need water to bathe." The water shortage has worsened sanitation and hygiene conditions on campus, making toilets and bathrooms difficult to use due to lack of water, resulting in increasing cases of open defecation. Students also claim the school compound is gradually being littered with refuse, and the indiscriminate disposal of used sanitary pads and other waste has become a growing health concern. The students are appealing to the school authorities, the Ghana Education Service, and the government to urgently restore water supply.