School water sanitation and hygiene education Paper by Water for People

This document by Water for People, emphasises the importance of appropriate sanitation coverage in schools that is gender sensitive and culturally acceptable to the needs of both boys and girl students, rather than the exclusive focus on adequacy of facilities.

It discusses the case of schools in rural areas in West Bengal where it was found that although the coverage of sanitation facilities was reasonable, lack of adequate availability of water, lack of consideration to student differences in terms of age and gender in the construction of latrines and drinking water facilities, poor systems of maintainence and disposal of wastes made the sanitation facilities inappropriate for use.

A survey conducted on the changes suggested by the students found that there was a considerable emphasis on modifying the existing sanitation facilities in terms of the separate and specific sanitation needs of girls and boys. The document considers various situations related to hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation, and provides suggestions in each case to improve the situation.