Sanitation facilities for schools
by Ananda KANNANGARA
The Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage has focused attention on
providing sanitation facilities for schools in the country.
According to the Ministry, nearly 1,300 schools do not maintain
proper sanitation facilities.
Referring to the fourth South Asian Conference on Sanitation, to be
held in Colombo from April 4-8, Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage
Secretary, A. Abeygunasekara told the Sunday Observer that out of 9,500
public schools in the country, over 1,300 have failed to provide
adequate and proper sanitation facilities to the students.
He said improving the health condition of over 4.2 million
schoolchildren is necessary, considering various diseases spreading fast
among children due to lack of proper sanitation in schools.
Abeygunasekara is of the view that schools, whether in urban or rural
areas, should provide students with adequate sanitation facilities such
as toilets and washing rooms.
Quoting international statistics, he said 700 million people in South
Asia have no proper sanitation facilities due to poverty.
This situation could lead to the spread of numerous epidemics
including malaria, dengue and chicken pox.
A senior official of the Education Department said that in some
schools 1,000 students have only five toilets.
He asked principals of such schools and also area education officials
to provide adequate toilet facilities.
He said, school authorities should also keep a close tab on the
cleanliness of toilets regularly, as it will help stop the spread of
water-borne diseases.
The Education Department will also deploy a team of investigating
officers to visit schools and inspect the state of their sanitation
facilities.
It is also reported that parents and well-wishers of a school at
Moneragala have pledged their support to construct new toilets to the
school and carry out toilet maintenance work regularly without adding a
burden to school authorities.
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