Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Sanitation drive to be launched in schools

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Driving home the message of cleanliness and sanitation among the younger generation, a State-level sanitation drive will be launched by the Department of Education in association with the Department of Local Self-Government in schools later this month.

The campaign will feature classes, seminars and special sessions highlighting the importance of ‘dry day’ activities in schools. A formal inauguration of the dry day campaign will take place on July 28 at all district headquarters.

According to the Department of Local Self-Government, the shoddy disposal of garbage, stagnant water bodies and unhygienic surroundings pose a major threat of outbreak of contagious diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever and Weil’s disease. This can be warded off only by ensuring sanitation and hygiene in households as well as in schools. Only by eradicating the conducive conditions that contribute to the breeding of mosquitoes and other disease-spreading germs can this mission be accomplished, says a statement issued by the department.

As a part of the cleaning drive, dry days will be observed in schools on all Mondays during which children will clear water puddles and other similar formations ensuring that their campuses do not become vector breeding grounds. Some of other areas that will be covered as part of the cleanliness drive in schools include minimising food waste, construction of soak pits for channelling polluted water, setting up of garbage treatment plants, construction of rainwater harvesting units, segregation of plastic wastes and setting up herbal and vegetable gardens.

A school-level health and sanitation club will be constituted to monitor and coordinate the activities which the students will be able to carryout along with their academic studies. The club will comprise representatives of teachers and students. Technical support will be provided by the Departments of Health and Water Resources. The initiatives will be implemented on the basis of a guideline prepared by a council comprising school students that will be set up in every educational institution.

Special recognition will be granted to schools that complete the mission in a time-bound manner. The school sanitation drive also aims at ensuring the quality of drinking water available in schools apart from strengthening the laboratory facilities available to higher secondary students. The services of science teachers at the respective schools will also be enlisted for the effective implementation of the programme.

The drive is scheduled to take off this month with a formal inauguration at the Cotton Hill Girls Higher Secondary School here.

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