Shine A Light: Toilet Stench, Hygiene Issue Affect Students

Students are struggling to concentrate during class with stench from toilets that are not cleaned because there is no water for days, sometimes even a week.

Schools in the Delainavesi and Lami areas constantly deal with poor sanitation and hygiene because of the continuous water disruptions, affecting academic performance and programmes.

There are more than 2000 students attending five schools within the area. We visited two secondary schools and three primary schools, all facing similar issues.

Residents in the area say the water problem has worsened recently. In addition, the trickle-down effect of years of negligence and oversight on one of the most important infrastructures are affecting students and their academic performance.

Education is a fundamental right enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Fiji, together with other countries, endorsed the right of every child to quality and accessible education.

Fiji’s Constitution, under the Bill of Rights, guarantees the right to education and clean water.

Section 31 highlights the right to education and Section 36 mandates the State to take reasonable measures for access to clean and safe water.

That is not the case for school children in the Lami and Delainavesi areas.

Their right to access clean drinking water in school affects their academic development and performance.

Year 7 and Year 8 students of Navesi Primary School in Delainavesi at times must cover their noses with their hands or handkerchief during class because of the stench from the school toilet near their block.

Navesi Primary School has close to 400 students, including kindergarten, and 12 teaching staff.

Teachers we spoke to in the five schools highlight the lack of coordination between the Ministry of Education and the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) and how this affects decisions when there is a need for emergency water supply to the schools.

Students are told to bring a water bottle each everyday.

RIPPLE EFFECT 

Students either face water problem at home or in schools, either way, they are on the receiving end of the problem.

Teachers we spoke to say they have noticed a high rate of absenteeism and the excuse given by parents and guardians is there is no water at home.

All the teachers agree that the water problem affects the children’s academic performance. There are primary school students who attend school without a proper bath from home or washed uniform.

There is no water almost every week in these schools. Water tanks provided by the Ministry of Education are not enough.

Teachers say providing water tanks is not the solution.

Ballantine Memorial School (BMS) in Delainavesi has a school roll of 445 students, which includes 180 school boarders.

BMS has three 5000 litres water tanks that the students use for cooking, bathing, and the toilets.

Vice principal Emi Veilawa said the water tanks were not enough to cater for the needs of the boarders.

“A water truck must fill the water tanks three times a day because these students use the tanks in the morning and in the evening,” she said.

“In the morning, we must clean the washrooms twice because the students use them, and we close the washrooms after lunch.”

Educational programmes such as toothbrushing, sports, and outdoor trainings are not held because there is no water.

Teachers encourage the students to bring their bottles of water from home. But, by midday, their bottled water is finished.

Water connection is restored in the wee hours of the morning, usually from 3 o’clock until schools open at 7 o’clock.

Because of the low water pressure, tanks connected to the main water pipe are not fully filled, schools are left with limited stored water for toilets and maintaining proper hygiene.

WATER CARTING 

Water trucks do not respond on time when they are requested by the schools.

For Navesi Primary School, a water truck has only filled one of their water tanks once.

Teachers are told that water trucks find it difficult to enter the road to the school. Because of this, the school must rely on rainwater and the inconsistent tap water.

Similar situations are faced by BMS, Marist Convent School, Lami Primary School and Suva Adventist College.

BUREAUCRACY

Teachers find it difficult to make decisions when there is an unplanned or planned water disruption because decisions need the approval of the permanent secretary for education.

One of the teachers said the ministry “micromanages” the operations of the schools.

“We cannot just close the school. We must write to our district office, who then writes to the ministry, and the process is just long,” a teacher said.

“The welfare and safety of the students are important to us, and the ministry needs to trust us to do our job.”

Most of the time, the ministry does not respond on time.

There are instances where heads of schools had to overrule the system by closing the school or releasing the students early because of the water problem.

One of the schools had to pay $300 for two buses to transport the students’ home because the ministry did not respond to their request to close the school.

For a week, the two areas had no water. For one of the schools, the decision was made by the management to close the school and release the students because there was no directive from the ministry.

“There is no communication or coordination at all between the ministry and WAF when there are water issues, especially when we have schools in these areas,” another teacher said.

Feedback: ivamere.nataro@fijisun.com.fj