No toilets in over 300 schools by Linekela Halwoodi Mon, 28 October 2013 02:13 Click on any image to zoom Learners in 363 primary and secondary schools in Namibia do not have access to decent sanitation infrastructure and therefore have to find the nearest bush to relieve themselves. This was revealed by the Namibia Education Coalition for Civil Society Organisations (NECCSO) and NANGOF Trust Education Sector Interest Group during their presentations to the Parliament’s standing committee on human resources, social and community development chaired by Agnes Tjongarero, last week. The findings come from a study compiled by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in Namibia whose report was presented to the Ministry of Education’s management committee around June this year. The report reveals 50% of schools in Namibia use pit latrines while 98% of those in flood-prone areas have no access or little access to toilets at schools. The Kavango and Oshikoto regions are the most affected by little access to water and next to no sanitation at the schools. With 6% of the total education sector budget going to development, only 2.6% of the budget is being spent on infrastructure. The group laments Government’s decision to ignore the 2011 Education Conference recommendation to increase capital development budget to 20% has seriously compromised the quality of education, which has worsened the sanitary conditions of learners. Government needs to build eight unit toilet facilities for those 363 schools, while N$250 000 would be needed to build eight pit latrines at each school. “The vision for all schools to have proper infrastructure by 2006 has been failed, according to the Vision 2030,” the report says. Minister of Education, Dr David Namwandi acknowledges the repulsive state in which schools in the Kavango and Oshikoto regions find themselves but says the challenge is lack of access to funds. “All I can assure you is that all the new infrastructure and schools being built right now will have proper sanitation. Of course we know we cannot build new schools when there are those without toilets but we are working our way around that,” Dr Namwandi says. According to the Namibian health guidelines, at least 30 learners should share a toilet and one toilet per teacher. NECCSO and NANGOF Trust recommends that “the Ministry of Education, with its stakeholders, define minimum standards for school construction”. NECCSO representative, Uhuru Dempers, who made the presentation says, “They should also classify all Namibian schools in terms of those standards and come up with a plan to upgrade, renovate and build on that basis.” [email protected] 700 learners share toilets built for 336 students @ Ekulo Ekulo Senior Secondary School, near Omuthiya in the Oshikoto Region, is one of many schools that battle a losing war with inadequate, repulsive sanitation, for its 707 hostel students. Initially built for 336 students, the school’s toilets now accommodate 224 boys and 373 girls. Acting principal, Asheela Ndeyanaye, says the school has since dug into its school development fund (SDF) to build four additional pit latrines because its 16 existing toilets on the school premises are not enough, especially with the water closures that occur from time to time. Across the country, 23km west of Rundu, the 629 students at Ruuga Combined School are making do with free-range (open defecation) because of lack of toilet facilities at the school. Established in 1978, the school has only nine pit latrines for all its students and teachers and not all of them function. Most of the students have deserted the toilets in the school, because they are now a harvest of maggots. What is curious is the fact that the school authorities are aware the particular toilets cannot meet the demands of the student population. They have since informed Government authorities who have chosen to turn a blind eye to their plight. This state of affairs often disturbs the course of the school’s operations, as students get late for classes while queuing up to relieve themselves, in the school latrines, and if they go deeper into the bush, they either skip certain classes or do not return to school altogether. Head of the school’s lower primary, Katrina Kudumo says; “Sometimes the students queue up at the toilets after break and we have to go and get them to go to class.” Also, students sometimes squat behind the pit latrines because the queues do not move fast enough for them to relieve themselves and then get to class on time, which has created an unhygienic environment for these pre-primary to Grade 10 pupils. The school has three toilets for the male and two for the female students, which are also used by their teachers. The female students are even worse-off, because they only have two toilets and stories of snakes and other predators in the latrines are awash. Students have, on several occasions, reported scorpion stings while relieving themselves on the free-range or using the pit latrines. The situation becomes very unbearable, especially during the rainy season, as students try to evade notorious flies and have to device tactics to locate safer grounds to squat on and do their business in an already messy one. “To date, we only have non-flushable toilets and we do not even have a tap outside the toilets for students to wash their hands. As such, it is very unhygienic for everyone,” Kudumo adds. Two of the toilets were built by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) called Kara Pamwe many years ago. Only Grade 8 to 10 students pay a school development fund (SDF) of N$123 each year, which is not enough to dig into, if the school is to remedy the situation by itself. Apart from the unbearable stench that emanates from the open defecation spots, it remains a mystery why fears of possible outbreaks of cholera and other ailments have not yet been allayed, even though most students complain of stomachaches and other waterborne ailments from time to time. And these are just but two of the 300 schools lacking sanitation facilities. [email protected]
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 22:59:40 +0000
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