HEALTHY FUTURE

The provision of safe water and sanitation facilities in schools is a first step towards a healthy physical learning environment benefiting both learning and health. However, the mere provision of facilities does not make them sustainable or produce the desired impact. It is the use of technical facilities and the related appropriate hygiene behaviours of people that provide health benefits. In schools, hygiene education aims to promote those practices that will help prevent water and sanitation-related diseases as well as promoting healthy behaviour in the future generation of adults .

The combination of adequate facilities, correct behavioural practices and education is meant to have a positive impact on the health and hygiene conditions of the community as a whole, both now and in the future. The success of a school hygiene programme is therefore not determined only by the number of latrines constructed and the number of hand pumps installed or water connections built. Nor is the success of a programme determined simply by what children know. Knowledge that is not applied to hygiene behaviour in practice has no impact on health.

The provision of safe water, clean toilets and urinals is a must in developing a healthy learning environment in schools. This will have impact on both learning and health of children. But mere provision of facilities will not be sufficient. There should be adequate number of urinals/toilets and necessary privacy should be ensured. Moreover, the children should be equipped to keep the sanitation facilities clean through proper hygiene education. Therefore it is felt that the success of the project lies not only in the provision of adequate sanitation facilities in schools but also on whether it is cleanly maintained, which can be ensured only through the cooperation of students and teachers.