Tamil Nadu's Water Bell Scheme: A Step Towards Better Hydration and Sanitation in Schools
R S Raveendhren
On June 28, the Tamil Nadu govt announced its 'Water Bell Scheme' to be implemented in all schools across the state to encourage students to drink water and to bring home the importance of hydration.
Initially introduced in Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha, the scheme has managed to hit two birds with one stone by bringing into focus not just the importance of water breaks but also the issue of 'continence culture' among school students.
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World Toilet Day, celebrated every year on Nov 19, reiterates the crucial role played by sanitation in our lives and the compelling need for cleaner and safer toilets. Management of toilets in schools represents a critical aspect of public health.
Without access to a safe and clean school toilet, the ability of students to learn and realise their full potential will remain severely compromised. In this context, school toilets and pedagogy are inextricably linked.
Many schools do not permit their students a bathroom break whenever they request one, or worse, in some cases, they are made to feel uncomfortable for seeking permission frequently to use the bathroom, leading to social anxiety and embarrassment.
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Besides this, lack of earmarked time and poor toilet sanitation dissuade a majority of students from using restrooms.
The urinary bladder needs to be emptied every three hours. Students who want to avoid poorly-maintained toilets often resort to limiting water intake. Urologists express renewed concerns that more and more children, especially girls aged between five and 15 years, are seeking medical help for serious health issues such as constipation, recurrent abdominal pain and urinary tract infection.
According to them, these conditions can be directly traced to poor toilet habits, which arise from a disproportionate number of toilets in schools and public spaces, insufficient time or attention given to toilet use, or complete avoidance due to poor sanitation.
In many developing countries, the lack of separate toilets for boys and girls is a daunting issue, often leading to girls dropping out of school at puberty.
For a country with 248 million students and counting, it is shocking that there is no comprehensive toilet policy for schools, unlike in countries in the West. The World Health Organization (WHO) prescribes at least one toilet for every 25 girls, manned by one female staff, and one toilet for every 50 boys, manned by one male staff.
While the 'Swachh Bharat, Swachh Vidyalaya' Scheme prescribes one toilet and three urinals for every 40 students, the Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Rules, 2023, stipulate a ratio of one toilet for every 50 children and one urinal for every 20 children, both of which are starkly behind global norms.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2018, surprisingly failed to lay down any such ratio.
As of today, there is no legal framework governing this subject except for inconsistent norms that often clash with each other. A report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) presented before Parliament a few years ago pointed out that 40% of govt co-educational schools in India either had no toilets or unused ones.
About 72% of them have zero maintenance, with more than half lacking running water.
Tamil Nadu may be doing much better than other states by providing separate toilets for girls in 99.7% of govt schools. However, the latest report from the Union Ministry of Education under the Unified District Information System for Education Plus states that there is still a long way to go. About 70% of the 58,801 govt, govt-aided and private-unaided schools lack toilets suitable for students with special needs; 26% of these schools are not provided with ramps and 59% lack handrails, leaving them more disadvantaged in terms of using the restroom facilities.
In 2019, the Tamil Nadu health department made it mandatory for educational institutions to provide soap and running water, without which sanitation certificates were withheld. Students and parents were encouraged to raise complaints about poor sanitation in school toilets by directly calling the '104' helpline and/or to raise concerns with their district health officials.
There is no doubt that students need encouragement to use toilets frequently without feeling shy about relieving themselves.
The water bell scheme must be complemented with a toilet bell. Neat and tidy toilets where students feel safe, private and comfortable will play a significant role in creating positive consequences on their physical and mental health. A safe toilet is a matter of right and not a privilege.
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) affirms sanitation as fundamental for human survival. It is declared as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and an integral facet of the right to live with dignity by the Supreme Court.
The UN has observed that sanitation has to progress at five times the speed to attain Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
A toilet is a good indicator of the governance of a society. A toilet audit by committees comprising students, parents, health officials and regulatory bodies could pave the way for greater awareness of sanitation. Another way to ensure janitors are doing their job well in school toilets is to use technology to launch an application that provides real-time updates on toilet maintenance in all educational institutions, also making authorities accountable for their lax behaviour.
(The author is an advocate in
Madras high court
)
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