Impact of education on sanitation

A question to think about: What has been the impact of education on sanitation in Ghana? It is sad to know that the “so-called educated” are those destroying our environment.

You see a neatly dressed gentleman or lady in a car and after drinking water or eating something, throws the waste out of the car onto the street.

Meanwhile, this waste could have been neatly kept in his/her bag and disposed into a refuse bin when he/she gets to one.

So you ask yourself, didn’t these people learn anything about sanitation in the classroom or are they not aware of the current state of our environment in Ghana? Is our knowledge only limited to books?

Let’s even come down to our very own schools where the knowledge is being imparted. Get behind a hall in a university and you will find a heap of rubbish with insects, rodents and vultures all over, and giving off offensive odour.

The very place where we are being taught to practise good sanitation also falls short in this. Therefore, how do we expect graduates from these institutions to be any different?

A similar situation can be seen in some of our senior high schools. Neighbouring communities complain of rubbers and papers from the schools being carried by wind over to their compounds due to poor management of their waste.

Liquid waste from dormitories are channelled into public drains which raise concerns in the surrounding communities. It also poses threat to the health of people living in such nearby communities. Open defecation is also common where there is heap of rubbish.

Sometime ago, it was in the news that rubbish heaped behind one of our university halls in the country was posing health threats to residents. Such things should not even be associated with our schools because the school is supposed to be a model to society and impact society positively.

The schools are doing their best to create awareness and educate us on sanitation issues but more can be done. Teachers should get more practical with what they teach and let students see the change take effect first in the schools. Let us handle our waste properly.

We should not add to the existing waste in the environment. Schools can embark on good sanitation projects. For example, composting latrines can be built for schools instead of water closets.

This type of latrine recycles nutrients from human excreta for agricultural production and is environmentally friendly.

The compost can be neatly packaged, stored, sold and the resulting income used to develop the schools and improve on their facilities.

The question now is ‘where is the expertise and market for this product? Will Ghanaians patronise compost from recycled excreta? If only we would understand that the recycled human excreta will not affect the quality of agricultural product, then this option of compost latrine can really be beneficial to us. People who are willing should be trained and equipped to handle this.

Our dear educated ones, please let us act as such and practise good sanitation to build a healthy environment. Just as ‘little drops of water make a mighty ocean’, so do ‘little drops of waste make a mighty mess’.

PUT YOUR EDUCATION TO PRACTISE. Act now!!!.