School sanitation management handbook: Healthy toilets are possible!
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guide Dec 2016 ; 61 pages
Aut. Bobbie Louton & David Still
Ed. WRC - Pretoria
Downloadable format: PdF
(1 750 ko)
Downloadable from the publisher
Editor Presentation
Abstract:
The toilets at many South African schools are dangerous, dirty and degrading. In fact, because toilets are often monitored less than any other area of the school – if they are monitored at all – they could well be the place where they face the greatest threat to their safety, health and dignity. Some toilets pose a threat to the very lives of learners, who could fall into the pit and drown. And unpleasant toilets that are not monitored can create a space where the worst of learner behaviour can flourish, placing learners at risk of bullying, abuse and humiliation. All of this negatively affects teaching and learning. Learners who feel afraid and uncomfortable in the toilets will not be able to thrive in the classroom. Learners who get diseases from the toilets, or develop health problems from avoiding going to the toilets miss learning time. Education is also compromised when learners who stay home because it is too unpleasant to deal with their periods in the school toilets or learners who leave school to find a better toilet.
A situation where learners feel that they cannot use their school toilets because they are dangerous or degrading undermines their physical health, psychological wellbeing and academic progress.
It is crucial that this situation be resolved. Principals, however, find themselves in a situation where better management of the toilets seems impossible. Funds are inadequate for all of the school needs and there are so many more “high-profile” problems to solve. Without support from the department many schools do not have the knowledge, skills, tools and resources to manage sanitation to a standard that protects learners safety, health and dignity. Sanitation can end up as the embarrassing disaster that stays hidden at the back of the school. Yet children have to face the threatening conditions in the toilets every day.
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WRC
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Water Research Commission - Pretoria - South Africa |
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