“The division of toilet blocks between students and teachers is not fair!”, this was the frustration of Ms Destina Samani , the Country Director of Water and Sanitation for Africa, Ghana.Ms Samani complained that,it was not fair to give two separate blocks of toilet facilities to teachers of eight whiles over four hundred pupils share four facilities. According to her this was the case in most public basic schools in Ghana, which leaves these pupils with inadequate access as their numbers exceed the facilities available to them hence the unhygienic state of the facilities, coupled with the improper maintenance culture.
Contributing to a panel discussion session at the thirty second (32nd) National Level Learning Alliance Platform (NLLAP) meeting, organized by the Resource Centre Network (RCN) Ghana, Ms Samani maintain that, even though she is not advocating that pupils should share toilets facilities with teachers, the situation of parents sharing toilets at home could be considered as a model in our schools. She said in the homes where parents share facilities with their wards, parents are able to draw the attention to usage and maintenance practices. According to her the current situation may not give teachers the added opportunity to check on the state of the pupil’s toilets and possibly ensure that it was kept clean.
The 32nd edition of the NLLAP hosted the SaniPath Project) under the theme,
Assessment of faecal exposure pathways in low income urban setting: Preliminary findings from the study, in Accra on 28th March 2013 and was heavily attended by sector stakeholders including the Minister for Water Resources Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Daouda who was also the special guest of honour.
Ida Coleman
RCN Ghana