Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
Parents of pupils at Haruna Memorial Primary School in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State have called on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, provide more toilets and water for pupils of the school, as this will improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practice and school enrolment.
Also, they said the construction of a parameter fence around the school premises will be a necessity as this will help in safeguarding the facilities from vandalism.
The School Board Management Committee (SBMC) Women Leader, Mrs. Alti Sanda, who made the call when the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) visited the school, lamented that there was lack of water to maintain the toilets built by UNICEF.
She said due to lack of water and the fear of contacting infections, mothers in the group had devised other means of teaching the girls about personal hygiene in order to keep them in school, noting that girl- child education can never be underestimated or over-emphasised.
Sanda said: “The female pupil by design will never want to pass waste or do a cleanup where their security and dignity will be compromised, hence the need for the government to intervene.
“I am also not happy because as women, everything of ours is different from that of men. Once a girl is grown up or wise enough to know and discover some changes on her body, she will never accept to open up herself for the sake of passing out waste outside. She will always want an enclosed place. Now look at the situation of the toilets.
“My plea to the state government is to provide water, increase number of toilets and classes, and fence the school,” she said.
