ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE PROGRAM IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

The provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene in schools has been established to improve health, boost educational achievement and promote gender equity which has a positive impact on the society. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals include the target of ensuring access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and quality education for all however, there are no documented studies that assessed comprehensive primary school WASH services in T/A Bvumbwe, Thyolo district. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the state of WASH program in primary schools in traditional authority of Bvumbwe in Thyolo district. The research involved quantitative research design and a representative of nineteen primary schools out of total twenty six primary schools across three zones in T/A Bvumbwe were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Research was conducted using a questionnaire applied to school staff members based on WASH principles and it was administered to students to identify WASH challenges and observation was made to assess the state of the schools’ physical environment. The assessment of WASH services was based on WASH indicators which includes availability, acceptability, accessibility and quality services of water, sanitation and hygiene as well as the operation and maintenance plan of WASH facilities. Data was analysed in SPSS software using descriptive statistics and t-tests and presented in charts using Microsoft excel. Comparison of results with the standard for WASH in schools by UNICEF and WHO guidelines was used as the guiding principles to evaluate the adequacy of the various WASH components. Water quality analysis was conducted for quantification of faecal coliform. All the schools did not conduct any water treatment and 53% of schools indicated the presence of faecal contamination. The reported water complaints relating to water taste was 15.3%.The number of toilets facilities in all schools were insufficient and need to be increased to meet WASH guidelines. The overall results showed that 78.9% of schools had basic water services, 84.2% had basic sanitation services while only 25.4% of schools had basic hygiene services hence effort need to be implemented for the increase in the percentage of basic WASH services to meet the SDG 4 and 6 by 2030. Hence, overall the implemented WASH program are not fully incompliance with WASH guidelines and are not sufficient to address the water, sanitation, and hygiene challenges in public primary schools. The Ministry of Education should assume ownership of the program to ensure the sustainability of WASH services. Financial and technical support should be provided and a surveillance system to monitor, evaluate, and guide public schools should be established.