Ensuring hygienic school toilets

According to a recent global report, nine in ten (90 per cent) children face issues with their school toilet facilities, resulting in anxiety and even absence from school. We must remember that the access to clean and hygienic toilets in educational institutions is as important as teaching quality in schools. In Bangladesh, most school toilets have no flush. They are kept in such a condition that no one can enter there as they stink. It is more difficult for girls to change sanitary pads there. So, many of them do not want to go to schools during their menstruation. There are hardly any educational institutions in the country, which have separate toilets for girls.

Although schools have budget allocations for various sectors, in most cases no allocation is kept for hygienic toilets. We urge the authorities concerned to address the issue and ensure safe and hygienic toilets for schoolchildren.

Ashikujaman Syed,

Research Assistant,

Bioinformatics Research Lab,

Center for Research Innovation and Development (CRID),

syedashikujaman@yahoo.com