Just about a month after the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) published their joint ‘Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools: 2018 Global Baseline Report,’ came the news that a non-secular, non-government organisation made up of young people affiliated with the First Assembly of God Church at D’Urban Street, Wortmanville had constructed handwashing facilities for the Charlestown Secondary School.
The facility was officially ‘handed-over’ to the school on Friday last. Now there are several things wrong with this picture, but before going into them plaudits must be extended to the young people of Nulli Secundus, who are living up to the name of their group in truly being second to none. It will be recalled that some two years ago, the group, in collaboration with Scotiabank Guyana had refurbished the library and reading room of the nearby Freeburg Secondary School. This had included repainting the floors, adding shelves and tables and stocking the shelves with new books and was financed through fundraisers and personal contributions by the youths.
It was reported that they raised $400,000 to complete the handwashing facility, after members of the group saw a need for it at the school. This will at least ensure that the students of Charlestown have a place to wash their hands – that is, those who have soap as it is highly unlikely that this much needed sanitation item is being/will be provided by the Ministry of Education.
Another jarring note was the referral to the communal sink as a ‘wash bay’, which is a name commonly given to a facility where vehicles are washed. Whoever said it first must have assumed it was a good idea, especially given the outdoor location of the handwashing facility. It is appalling, however, that Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson, who was present at the handing-over ceremony and urged the students to take good care of the facility, did not use the opportunity to educate students and others on the improper use of the term.
The UNICEF/WHO report, which was published last month, noted that nearly half the world’s schools lack clean drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities and that the absence of these basic amenities puts some 900 million children at risk of contracting diseases. According to the report, which is the first to look specifically at the provision of water, toilets and handwashing facilities, researchers found that “nearly a third of primary and secondary schools lacked a safe and reliable drinking water supply, affecting nearly 570 million children. Nearly 20 percent of schools had no safe drinking water at all. Just over a third of schools lacked adequate toilet facilities, affecting more than 620 million children. Almost one in five primary schools and one in eight secondary schools were considered to have no sanitation.”
As regards handwashing, the World Bank published a toolkit back in 2005, while noting that appropriate facilities did not exist in most schools in developing countries and where they were available, they might be poorly located, have insufficient hand washing materials, be inaccessible, or be improperly used. It had recommended that the handwashing facility should be located near to the toilets, for obvious reasons.
Lead researcher on the UNICEF/WHO project Dr Rick Johnston of WHO was quoted as saying: “You can’t have a quality learning environment without these basics.” Well it has not been the practice of successive governments to provide safe drinking water for schoolchildren in Guyana. This was possibly last done when tap water was considered safe, therefore not for decades. And while handwashing is encouraged, schools do not normally provide soap. This is one of the reasons why, aside from the children’s proximity to each other in overcrowded classrooms, the common cold, flu and diarrhoeal diseases, to mention a few, tend to spread like wildfire in schools.
It is worth recalling here the horrific incident in 2008, when nine-year-old Tanesha De Souza of Santa Rosa Village fell into the pit latrine at the Santa Rosa Primary School, Moruca and died. At that time, then Minister of Education Shaik Baksh had pronounced that pit latrines at hinterland schools were “adequate” and “internationally accepted”. Naturally, he was thoroughly roasted for that remark and further when he refused the assistance of the Alliance for Change (AFC), then in opposition, and part of the current government, in providing modern toilets, referring to the offer as the party using the issue for its “political agenda”.
The then government subsequently announced plans to build a new sanitary block at the Santa Rosa Primary School, which would have included those donated by the AFC and there were calls for the outlawing of pit latrines at all public schools. One hopes that by now this would have been done. But what of handwashing facilities?
While Charlestown has a spanking new handwashing facility compliments of Nulli Secundus, just what is the position with other schools around the country? How many have such facilities? How many are in good working order? How many are just plain deplorable? Why is it that the maintenance of school facilities is so difficult? Does the ministry still have a maintenance division?
Providing quality education must include proper sanitation and this should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. Mr Hutson was quoted as saying: “I have always been an advocate of the idea that education cannot move on in an environment that is not focused…” Quite rightly so. This is an idea that he needs to apply.
