Ways to Improve Hygiene and Sanitation in the Rural Schools

Hygiene and sanitation are the two most important requirements in any school, along with other things.  These two basic requirements are not only required in the urban schools instead they are equally required in rural schools as well.

Let's look into some important facts related to the schools in rural India. It might be an eye opener for us or might act as an alarm for us.

v  There are 6.3 Lakh primary and upper primary schools in rural India.

v  Out of these, only 44% have the proper water supply, 19% have urinals and 8% have lavatory facilities.

v  Among above only 19% have separate washrooms for girls and boys and 4% have separate lavatory facilities.

v  These figures lead to consequences that from the above percentage around 0.6-0.8 million children suffer from diseases such as Typhoid, diarrhea, and etc.

This small list of facts and figures is also one of the reasons behind the gradual decrease in the number of girl students. Therefore, here it becomes important to highlight the significance of the water supply, along with hygiene and sanitation. The schools like the American Montessori Public School should take up responsibilities of these rural schools. These factors promote health and hygiene behavior at an early age; improves the health of the students and decreases the drop-out rate drastically, including girl students, once these factors are observed with great importance then a generational change can be observed as children can lay a foundation for the next generation.

The Government can provide support in the schools through:

•Promotion of the provision of water supply and sanitation facilities.

•Objectives and standards can be designed for construction of facilities.

•To create an environment for productive result through hygiene education activities to ensure that facilities are properly used.

• Monitoring and regulating the implementing agencies.

• To regulate and ensure teacher training.

• To ensure appropriate legislation.

A variety of activities related to school sanitation and hygiene (SSH) include providing facilities that require approval and finance for hygiene education, which may require a change in curriculum, curriculum development for informal education and much more.  The involvement of various schools likes the A.P.L. Global School and possibly NGOs are required to accomplish the respective requirements in a comprehensive way on the implementation of  the SSH. Many organizations can be involved like the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Public Works Department, international organizations, NGOs and the Teachers Organizations.

At last, it would not be wrong to quote an example of various NGO’s and the works being done by them. There are NGO’S such as Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA), a non-governmental support organization based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, which are involved in the promotional activities of health of women and children for more than a decade. Presently, CHETNA works as a support organization which works through its other two centers, that  one of which is the Child Resource (CRC), and Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). Both the sister companies work in coordination for the women and children’s health and sanitary issues. The conduct programs which provide food supplements and gives health education to children below three years of age.