Equity in School Water and Sanitation

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EQUITY IN SCHOOL WATER AND SANITATIONand did not accept water from Dalit orMuslim children, where they did not taste/touch the midday meal and where theydifferentiated between children from betterofffamilies and the very poor, socialexclusion was found to be a worrying realityin the school and in the classroom. Sahariya (a tribal community) children werethe most disadvantaged. Teachers andfellow-students did not interact with them asequals and the study found deep-rootedsocial prejudices against this particularcommunity, thereby affecting theperformance of Sahariya children in school.Drop-out rates are high among Sahariyachildren because of frequent migration andtheir inability to understand what is beingtaught in school. Children were assigned duties according totheir age and gender and in many schoolsthe social standing of the families they camefrom. The work burden of children was highin several schools and the teachers werenot sensitive to this. Children worked for acouple of hours and those who did, missedthe morning prayer and school assembly.Ignorance and insensitivity towards Childrenwith Special Needs (CWSN) underpinned mostof the interactions with teachers and duringschool observations. Despite well-articulatedguidelines/design specifications, none of thetoilets had requisite safety structures forunhindered mobility for children with physicaldisabilities. In case they felt the need to usethe toilet, they were either sent home withsomeone or their parents were called to carrythem home. Access to the hand pump (mainsource of drinking water in all the schools) wasalso not CWSN friendly.Adolescents and sanitation: No adolescent boy or girl said that theydropped out because of lack of toiletfacilities; they said that the toilets were dirtyand unusable for all students. Most of theboys said that if they had an opportunity tostudy they would continue whether therewas a toilet or not in school. While availabilityof toilets would certainly make a differenceto their lives in school, boys and girls havelearnt to cope with the discomfort. If theteachers were good and they taught well andregularly, they would come to school. Thegirls said that education was very importantas it enhanced their status in their familiesand in the community. They saw educationas a precious opportunity, a process thatcan help them break out of the cycle ofpoverty and powerlessness.All adolescent girls admitted that theymissed school when they had theirmenstrual periods and took the help of otherstudents to catch up. They also said thatthey do not sit next to or touch a girl whenshe has her period. They have grown upwith this custom and do not see it asexclusion or discrimination – ‘it happens toall of us!’RecommendationsAddress attitudes and beliefs: To alterteacher behaviour and attitudes UNICEFshould introduce training/orientationprogrammes for teachers, teacher educatorsand educational administrators on inclusionand exclusion. This needs to be done in theoverall framework of the Constitution of India,the right to equality and non-discrimination andthe CRC.Link between school and community: A totalschool sanitation programme has to start withthe community, move towards the school andcome back to work with the community toreinforce practices and sustain the momentumfor positive change as the school is embeddedin society. The school sanitation programmeneeds to forge linkages with the government'sTSC; the school could become a hub foreducation and awareness raising.Take the school as a whole: The schoolneeds to be taken as a seamless and integratedinstitution where education, child development,child protection, nutrition, safe water andsanitation together contribute to a positiveschooling experience for children. To this endthe following steps are recommended: The headteacher, teachers, and villageleaders (Panchayat) need to be involved indeveloping a plan for the school (includinglocation of hand pumps and toilets) and acomprehensive timetable that factors in theteaching and learning processes as well asthe school environment. The administration or the village Panchayatxvi
Overcoming Exclusion and Discrimination in South AsiaCountry Report Bhutanhas to take responsibility for themaintenance and upkeep of the facilities,including a person who would clean theschool premises and the toilets. The childrencould join in and support these activities,but not shoulder the entire burden ofcleaning and maintenance.Drinking water and sanitation facilities needto be designed keeping in view easyaccessibility for all children. Structural andconstruction flaws, including ventilation andlight, have to be given due importance fromthe beginning. Children could participate inworkshops and be asked to draw and designtoilets so that the planning/designing is childcentric.Children should not be made to clean andsweep as soon as they come to school inthe morning. They could assist in tidying upbefore they leave school in the afternoon/evening. This is important to nurture apositive self-image and self-esteem amongchildren and also to impress upon them theimportance of personal hygiene in school.UNICEF could consider bringing groups ofchildren together to let them articulate thework that they can do and the work that theycannot do in schools, thereby drawing aclear line (as guidelines for programmemanagers and teachers) between work/tasks that are or are not harmful to children(physically, emotionally, psychologically).The parameters need to be defined by thechildren themselves and adhered to.Children's forums need to be empoweredto discuss and decide what they can do andwhen, including developing a roster ofresponsibilities where all children participatein turns. Such a process would have alasting impact on attitudes and practices.Special and focused effort is necessary toplan for the needs of children withdisabilities, making sure that the middaymeal, drinking water and toilet facilities areaccessible to them and that they are treatedwith love and with dignity.All children should be trained/oriented onuse of facilities – water, toilets and otherfacilities. Respect for other children (notmessing up toilets, not contaminating thewater or the area around the hand pump)also needs to be instilled in them. Teachers need to be sensitized (orientedand trained) to using rights-based languageand practising inclusion. This languageshould permeate all areas of the school –teaching and learning, classroommanagement, cleanliness and hygiene,sanitation, midday meal, etc.Identify and address exclusion: Inclusionand exclusion need to be identified and handledwith sensitivity as well as firmness. TheConstitution of India guarantees all citizens theright against discrimination. The schoolsanitation programme could start by educatingchildren/communities about their rights ascitizens and the teachers about theconstitutional guarantees and the importanceof adhering to them. Non-discrimination should be made a nonnegotiableprinciple in school – this needsto be adhered to in midday meal distribution,in equal and uninhibited access to safedrinking water, use of urinals and toilets andall other facilities. Posters on child rights and on constitutionalrights and guarantees need to be displayedprominently in every school. These need tobe written in a simple language so thatchildren from all the classes can read andunderstand them. It would also be good todisplay posters that convey the message ofequality and non-discrimination. Theseposters should have a phone number (UPhas a childline number 1098, but ruralchildren were not aware of it) and addresswhere the children can call or write.Good practices as sites for training: Usesites of good practices as a hub for trainingand orientation of administrators, teachers,Panchayat leaders and school managementcommittees. Good practice case studies needto be disseminated; stories of schools and rolemodels among teachers, principals andchildren have to be written and made availableto all schools. Special awards could be givento schools that demonstrate inclusion andequality in all facets of the life of the school (inthe classroom, in extra-curricular activities andeven in maintaining facilities).Budget for maintenance and retro-fitting:In view of the finding that a large number oftoilets are in a state of disrepair and that thedesign itself is a problem in some cases, it isxvii
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