Equity in School Water and Sanitation

EQUITY IN SCHOOL WATER AND SANITATIONSome children do not like cleaning the toilets, and they spoke about it in focus group discussions. A fewparents also do not like the idea of their children cleaning the toilets – whether OBC or even SC. One SCgirl did not participate in toilet cleaning and was supported by the teacher saying that she is weak instudies hence is kept away from other responsibilities.The school premises are occasionally let out in the evenings for marriages. After such events, the childrenare unfortunately made to clean the guest toilets, which is why parents object to their children cleaningtoilets and the campus.The students are familiar with environmental issues through the active Bal Sansad 30 which is alsoresponsible for the cleaning of the school and maintenance of the plants and flower beds. The communitysweeper only comes once in once a week to the village – he also cleans the toilets and the empties theschool garbage dump.This school is the subject of envy around the area because it is so well maintained. The school is a goodpractice school in terms of adequacy of infrastructure and maintenance, because of the personal interestof the pradhan. However, there is a total lack of ownership of school teachers in respect of its maintenanceand upkeep – which appears to be high on the agenda of the pradhan.However, the upper primary school and the second primary school do not have the same status as theydo not get similar attention from the pradhan. The former does have a sanitation unit with an incineratorand a force lift hand pump, as well as dustbins on the campus. The sanitation facilities are well used andmaintained by the children. However, the toilet is not user friendly in its approach and the usage for thetwo physically challenged students. Even the campus is not well maintained as there is no boundary wall,and it is often misused by the neighbouring households, whose cattle and goats eat up the plants andmess up the grounds. The pradhan has yet to take an initiative to facilitate inputs for the upper primaryschool. Despite this, the school’s academic performance is good, as the teachers are devoted. Theyposed a challenge to a private school in the village, which finally had to close as the children shifted fromthere to this upper primary school. The same cannot be said for the primary school, even though it is amodel school in terms of infrastructure.The second primary school too is in an area where mostly SC children attend, located across a nearbyriver, which is difficult to cross in the monsoon. This primary school has only basic facilities as visitingofficials hardly ever cross the river or go across to the school. This hamlet is difficult to access – a fewchildren have even fallen in the river due to lack of a proper bridge. It is dirty, with garbage dumped allaround, and insufficient hand pumps for drinking water which even dry up in summer. People have to usedirty river water (it is near a cement factory) for washing and bathing. Toilets do exist but they not beingused well as people are still uncomfortable using them.Women and girls bury their soiled sanitary towels/menstrual rags in fields – a practice to which somevillagers object. The community reported to our team that some young children were actually sent homewhen they wanted to use the toilet as there was no one in the school to help them; or else, mothers weresummoned to the school.The area where the Muslims live is segregated – outside the main village. They do not have properfacilities – there is only one hand pump maintained by the community. Toilets (without doors) are usedonly either at night, or during the monsoons, to ensure that the pits do not fill up fast. People prefer todefecate in the fields (where they use only a small mug of water) rather than flush the toilet with a bucketof water and then wash it with another bucket of water.30A Bal Sansad is the children’s ‘parliament’ in school.72