Students of School of Hygiene engage in open defecation

Students of School of Hygiene engage in open defecation
By Joseph Ziem
Investigations by FIILA News have revealed that the Tamale School of Hygiene which was established to ensure proper community sanitation and good environmental practices, has resorted to open defecation in and around the School.
Residents around the school premises are reported to have seriously criticised the behaviour of the students but authorities insist the issue is due to lack of toilet facilities in the school.
The school with a population of over 700 students is currently using a six seater KVIP toilet for both male and female students.
The students have no option than to risk themselves to enter into the nearby bushes to ease themselves at the mercies of snakes and other reptiles at night.
The Vice Principal of the Tamale School of Hygiene, Charles Tawah at the 9th Sanitation Week Celebration organized by the Students Representative Council (SRC) on Monday May 31, 2010 confirmed the situation and outlined measures to salvage the situation.
The celebration was under the theme “Sanitation is a collective responsibility”. The Vice Principal says the school has not received any facelift since its establishment, describing the sanitation situation in the school as very appalling.
Mr. Tawah disclosed that students are overcrowded in their hostels and this pose a lot of health hazards to them.
He also mentioned lack of staff accommodation, potable drinking water and lack of lecture halls which has compelled authourities to convert the Assembly Hall into a lecture hall.
The Vice Principal therefore appealed to government and NGOs to help the school build a fence wall around the about 10 acre land.
The Mayor of Tamale, Alhaji Abdulai Haruan Friday said the increasing growth of population in the Metropolis is posing a great threat to the environment and making the sanitation situation very difficult to handle.
He blamed most of the insanitary conditions created in the city on residents, saying it is due to indiscipline.
Statistics revealed that about 95 percent of homes in Tamale do not have toilet facilities and this is forcing tenants to defeacate in the bush.