School washroom maintenance cannot wait
I believe a school is like a holy sanctuary.
As much as practicable, it must strive to be blameless of any ills and show itself approved by parents, learners, teachers and non-teachers as well as society at large.
This may motivate parents, benevolent individuals and organisations to entrust resources in their care under the conviction that they will be kept safe, secure and protected from any unforeseen harm.
Unfortunately, in Ghana, some schools are bedevilled with challenges that leave them vulnerable to public criticism, ridicule and mistrust. A notable but seemingly neglected issue is the deplorable state of their washrooms.
Have you not noticed that during ceremonies in some schools, parents and other visitors struggle to find a decent washroom to urinate or defecate and so resort to squatting at any place they deem convenient, even in the full glare of passersby? This scene is an eyesore!
At the minimum, a well-maintained washroom is well-ventilated with an adequate number of toilets and urinals for the average number of users as well as regular cleaning schedules and a full supply of toilet paper and sanitary waste disposal bins (inspiredwashrooms.co.uk).
Research
School washroom maintenance continues to be a grave concern in some schools.
A study by Nuhu, I., et al (2023) titled ‘Condition of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Ghana Basic schools: Empirical evidence from Wa municipality’ identified that 49 per cent of respondents cited poor maintenance as the major drawback of functional WASH programmes in schools.
Henceforth, the urgency of school washroom maintenance hinges on two core factors: health risk and learner safety.
Health risk
Unhealthy learners may not actively engage in academic studies. Teachers who fall ill may ignore lesson delivery, and this may be a huge blow, especially to a school with low staff strength.
The state of some washrooms poses health risks to these key members of the school community.
An assessment revealed that 72 per cent of senior high schools in the Northern Region lacked adequate and hygienic latrines.
Learners defecate in polythene bags or the open due to the poor state of facilities (GBC Ghana online, 2023). Some washrooms are filled with residue from farm animals, cobwebs, etc.
Others may have turned into rest stops for these farm animals.
The reality is that learners may not even wash their hands after visiting the place.
The stench from the uncleaned washrooms that are close to classrooms is a cause for ill health when learners and teachers inhale it daily.
Already, there may be few to no healthcare facilities in the community and should there be any disease outbreak, how will they cope?
Learners and teachers should not die due to preventable diseases or illnesses from deplorable washrooms.
Well-maintained washrooms help mitigate risks of any illnesses and disease outbreaks.
Learner safety
Over the years, school safety has become a key concern to education stakeholders, especially parents and the general public at large.
It may refer to the capacity of schools to put in place measures to keep learners and other school community members free from any unforeseen harm.
It is traumatic to realise that a structure to enable learners to attend to nature’s call is a ‘death trap’. Some of the washrooms are located near the bush, and due to non-maintenance, it has become breeding grounds for snakes and other dangerous animals.
Learners or teachers who dare to use them do so at their peril.
This situation has led some learners to resort to the nearby bush to ease themselves, which is equally unsafe.
For instance, in 2019, students of Kumasi High School expressed concern about potential snake attacks due to the unhygienic conditions of their washrooms (Citi Newsroom).
Again, a teacher trainee at Assin Foso College of Education in the Central Region was bitten by a snake using a disused KVIP toilet facility (May 2022, Ghana news).
Hardly will well-maintained washrooms expose learners to safety risks.
In conclusion, school administration should go beyond well-crafted vision and mission statements.
An urgent attempt at prioritising washroom maintenance may also yield public trust and improved learning outcomes for institutional sustainability. School washroom maintenance cannot wait!
The writer is an Institutional Assessment Practitioner
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