Equity in School Water and Sanitation

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EQUITY IN SCHOOL WATER AND SANITATIONcleaning the facilities. We noticed that regularteaching and learning took a back seat in suchschools – this was the case in four sample schools.In one school, the Bal Sansad had manycommittees on paper but only the cleanlinesscommittee was active. This committee was notempowered to take decisions, but was directedby the teachers to keep the toilets, classroomsand the grounds clean. Several hours were spenton this work on a regular basis. Can this beshowcased as a ‘good practice’? Maybe the waterand sanitation department will award the schoolfor its cleanliness, but the village community andthe education administration may not appreciatethis if the children are not learning. Water andsanitation education is an important dimension ofeducation but it cannot become the mainstay ofthe school. There is a need to safeguard againstone-dimensional pre-occupations.Needs of adolescent girls and boys: The needsand demands of young boys and girls, adolescentsand teachers should be appreciated by theeducational administration. After all, water andaccess to toilets is a basic need and this has notreceived the attention it merits. We cannot runaway from the fact that the administration – be itthe government or private management (in privateschools) – does not give adequate importance tothe basic human needs of the students andteachers. Across all the sample schools, toiletswere constructed either by the government orthrough a special programme by an internationaldonor agency. The crux of the matter is thatadequate budgetary provisions are not made forupkeep and maintenance, no one monitorswhether the facilities provided are actuallymaintained and are usable, and most importantly,little care goes into understanding how and whythese systems collapse.RecommendationsAddress attitudes and beliefs: It isrecommended that UNICEF introduce training/orientation programmes for teachers, teachereducators and educational administrators oninclusion and exclusion. This needs to be donein the overall framework of the Constitution ofIndia and the guarantee of non-discrimination,and the 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. The school does not standalone and it is important to recognize that theschool is embedded in society. The schoolsanitation programme needs to forge linkageswith the government’s total sanitationcampaign; 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. Thisapproach is essential for planning and prioritysetting. The education and water/sanitationdepartments need to work in a coordinatedmanner. There is a need to do away withparallel and vertical programmes that havecompeting priorities and targets. This deflectsthe focus from the child who has to be thecentre of attention. School Plan: To this end, the headteacher,teachers and village leaders (Panchayat)need to be involved in developing a plan forthe school (including location of hand pumpsand toilets) and a comprehensive timetablethat factors in the teaching and learningprocesses, as well as the schoolenvironment. Joint responsibility of school andPanchayat: The administration or thevillage Panchayat has to take responsibilityfor maintenance and upkeep, including aperson to clean the school premises andthe toilets. The children could join in andsupport these activities, but should notshoulder the entire burden of cleaning andmaintenance. Design of facilities: Drinking water facilitiesand toilets need to be designed keeping inview easy accessibility. Doors that open thewrong way in small and windowless toilets,lack of ventilation and light need to beaddressed. To this end, older children couldbe asked to draw and design toilets whichcould be discussed with the architect.34
Overcoming Exclusion and Discrimination in South AsiaIndia Country ReportPlanning needs to be child-centric. Seriousattention is required to address designissues to ensure that the toilets and watersources are safe, child-friendly, and areaccessible to children with special needs.Local design workshops and meetings couldbe organized with children to understandtheir problems and toilets and water sourcesdesigned to suit the specific situation in eachand every school. This would imply that auniform centralized design might have togive way to local designs.Work burden of children a seriousconcern: Children should not be made toclean and sweep as soon as they come toschool in the morning. They could assist intidying up before they leave the school inthe afternoon/evening. This is important tonurture a positive self-image and selfesteemamong children and also impressupon them the importance of personalhygiene in school.Hear voices of children: UNICEF couldconsider bringing groups of childrentogether to let them articulate the work thatthey can do and the work that they cannotdo, thereby drawing a clear line (asguidelines for programme managers andteachers) between work/tasks that are andare not harmful to children (physically,emotionally, psychologically). Theseparameters need to be defined by thechildren themselves.Empower children: Children’s forumsneed to be empowered to discuss anddecide what children can do and when,including developing a roster ofresponsibilities where all children participatein turns. Such a process would have alasting impact on attitudes and practices. Ifthe school sanitation programme is abouteducation, then Bal Panchayats and otherchildren’s forums need to be strengthened.Address CWSN: Special and focused effortis necessary to plan for the needs of childrenwith disabilities, making sure that the middaymeal, drinking water and toilet facilities areaccessible to them and that they are treatedwith love and with dignity.Train all children to use facilities: Allchildren could be trained/oriented on the useof the facilities – water, toilets and otherfacilities – and respect for other children (notmessing up the toilet, not contaminatingwater) also needs to be instilled in them.Sensitize teachers: Teachers need to besensitized (oriented and trained) using arights-based language. This languageshould permeate all areas of the school –teaching and learning, classroommanagement, cleanliness and hygiene,sanitation, midday meal, etc.Mechanisms to identify and addressexclusion: Inclusion and exclusion need to beidentified and handled with sensitivity as wellas firmness. The Constitution of Indiaguarantees all citizens the right againstdiscrimination. The school sanitationprogramme could start by educating childrenabout their rights as citizens and the teachersabout constitutional guarantees and theimportance of adhering to them. Theprogramme should also provide formechanisms for redressal of complaints madeby children, especially when they experienceexclusion. Make non-discrimination a nonnegotiableprinciple: Non-discriminationshould be made a non-negotiable principlein school. This needs to be adhered to inmidday meal distribution, in equal anduninhibited access to safe drinking water,use of urinals and toilets, and all otherfacilities. Posters in schools: Posters on child rightsand on constitutional rights and guaranteesneed to be displayed prominently in everyschool. While we saw some wall paintingon the incentives that the children get, theywere not about the rights of children. Equallyimportant is that child rights need to bewritten in a simple language so that thechildren in all 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 child line number 1098, but ruralchildren were not aware of this) and addresswhere children can call or write.Good practices as sites for training: Usesites of good practices as a hub for the training35
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Equity in School Water and Sanitation

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