Classes at Nhletsheni High Schools (in the Shiselweni Region) had to be suspended on Thursday and Friday after students opted to boycott classes over the poor state of male toilets in the school.

News on Africa Eswatini Edition has gathered that the issue of the toilets dates back to 2018 when parents were ordered to pay a sum of E150 which was to go towards the construction of proper toilets.

A source who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity informed this reporter that the parents were also asked to pay another E150 in 2019 after they were told that the money collected in 2019 was not enough for the toilets.

Fast-forward to 2021, the Nhletsheni parents have since been allegedly ordered to contributes the E150 again something that triggered the protests on Thursday.

This was after 4 Form 5 students approached the Principal calling for the construction of proper toilets.

Speaking to News on Africa Eswatini Edition, one of the students who was said to be part of the meeting confirmed the issue and revealed that all 4 of them were ordered not to return to school without their parents.

We have learned that no property was destructed during the protests as the students were expressing themselves in a peaceful manner.

The Thursday protest came to an end after Police from Debedebe Police Post arrived at the school to maintain peace and order. Upon the arrival, the students were gathered in the assembly spot where the school Principal ordered the students to go home and return for classes the following day which is Friday (18 July 2021).

However, the students did not resume classes but instead continued with boycotting the classes still calling for the toilets. Other issues that the students complained about during the protests include the lack of sanitizers and social distancing in classes which they described as a health hazard.

While the female students have properly built toilets, their counterparts are currently answering the call of nature in a dilapidated pit latrine which also fails to accommodate the whole male population of the high school resulting in some students helping themselves outside the toilet.