Schools advised to provide sanitary facilities for pupils

Nkoranza (B/A), Dec 1, GNA- Mr Kwabena Agyemang-Badu, Nkoranza District Director of Education has urged School Management Committees (SMCs) and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in the district to ensure that schools are provided with sanitary facilities.

Mr Agyemang-Badu was addressing about 130 School Health Coordinators in the district at a three-day workshop at Nkoranza on Monday.

It aimed at equipping the participants with knowledge that would integrate personal hygiene and environmental sanitation into school programmes.

He expressed concern about how some schools in the area lacked toilet facilities as a result of which students moved out of school to the town or even into bushes to defecate indiscriminately. Mr Agyemang-Badu stressed the need for school authorities to provide such facilities to promote good health of the children. He announced that his outfit would only approve of opening new schools when such facilities had been catered for.

He urged heads of school to educate parents about the school health education programme (SHEP) and its relevance to children. Schools should be provided with waste paper baskets or dustbins and hand-washing basins in addition to encouraging the school children to use soap to wash their hands after visiting places of convenience.