In order to promote appropriate hygiene behaviour and sustainable use of water and sanitation facilities in schools, over 400 school teachers and administrators will be trained on life skills-based health and hygiene education with the assistance of Unicef by December 2007.
This was stated by Eid Bad Shah, director, Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (Pite), while addressing the three-day training of trainers' workshop on life skills-based hygiene education in schools held here in Peshawar.
"These training will be arranged under the auspices of the School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) Center, which has been recently established in Pite with Unicef assistance.
Ms Zohra Nisar Hunzai of Unicef made a detailed presentation on 'Child to Child approach to hygiene education.' She informed that lack of water and sanitation facilities is considered to be one of the factors for low enrolment and high dropout from the schools.
In addition, the provision of water and sanitation facilities in schools reduces the risk of disease, helps children perform better through creation of healthy and hygienic environment and influences parents and out-of-school children for sanitation and health improvements, she stated. Ms Humera Iqbal made a detailed presentation on water and sanitation-related diseases and their faecal-oral routes of transmission.
Ehsan Ullah, provincial co-ordinator, SSHE Center, in his presentation, said that according to Education Management Information System-2005-06, over 44 percent primary schools in NWFP for lack of water, while 32 percent for lack of toilet facilities.
In many schools, however, the existing facilities are either non-functional or not being properly used and maintained due to lack of proper hygiene behaviour and practice, he added. Pite Deputy Director Arif Ali Khan said as part of the government's efforts to promote SSHE, a website on SSHE is also being launched shortly. The website will provide useful information about the SSHE.
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