Swachh Vidyalay-WPS Office

Swachh Vidyalaya – The Essential Elements
Sanitation
Drinking water
Operation and maintenance
Behaviour change activities
Enhanced capacities
Swachh Bharat: Swachh Vidyalaya is the national campaign driving ‘Clean India: Clean Schools’.
A key feature of the campaign is to ensure that every school in India has a set of functioning
and well maintained water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Water, sanitation and hygiene in
schools refers to a combination of technical and human development components that are
necessary to produce a healthy school environment and to develop or support appropriate
health and hygiene behaviours. The technical components include drinking water, hand washing,
toilet and soap facilities in the school compound for use by children and teachers. The human
development components are the activities that promote conditions within the school and the
practices of children that help to prevent water, hygiene and sanitation related diseases.
School sanitation and hygiene depend on a process of capacity enhancement of teachers,

community members, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based
Organisations (CBOs) and education administrators. Water, sanitation and hygiene in school
aims to make a visible impact on the health and hygiene of children through improvement in
their health and hygiene practices, and those of their families and the communities. It also aims
to improve the curriculum and teaching methods while promoting hygiene practices and
community ownership of water and sanitation facilities within schools. it improves children’s
health, school enrolment, attendance and retention and paves the way for new generation of
healthy children. It is the role of policymakers, government representatives, citizens and
parents to make sure that every child attends a school that has access to safe drinking water,
proper sanitation and hygiene facilities. This is every child’s right.
The benefits of water sanitation and hygiene to school children
The provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in school secures a healthy school
environment and protects children from illness and exclusion. It is a first step towards a healthy
physical learning environment, benefiting both learning and health. Children who are healthy and
well-nourished can fully participate in school and get the most from the education. Hygiene
education in schools help promote those practices that would prevent water and sanitation
related diseases as well as encourage healthy behaviour in future generations of adults.
Girls are particularly vulnerable to dropping out of school, partly because many are reluctant to
continue their education when toilets and washing facilities are not private, not safe or simply
not available. When schools have appropriate, gender-separated facilities, an obstacle to
attendance is removed. Thus having gender segregated toilets in schools particularly matters
for girls. Gender norms and physiology make privacy more important for girls than boys, and
biological realities mean that girls need adequate sanitary facilities at school to manage
menstruation. Basic facilities that provide for good hygiene and privacy, along with sensitive
health promotion assist girls to stay in school and complete their education.
Hygiene in school also supports school nutrition. The simple act of washing hands with soap
before eating the school mid day meal assists to break disease transmission routes. Children
get the nutritional benefits intended, rather than ingesting bacteria, germs and viruses. Studies
show that when hand washing becomes part of a child’s daily routine the benefits to health are
evident and the practice does not easily fade. School is therefore an ideal setting for teaching
good hygiene behaviours that children can also carry home.
Having safe water, toilet and hygiene facilities in schools promotes equity. All children are equal
in their right to access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and all children
gain benefits through the improved hygiene practices promoted in schools. By providing gender-
segregated toilets, students are assured of privacy and dignity, a particularly important factor
for girls’ school attendance. By providing inclusive and accessible facilities, children with special
needs are able to attend school and further contribute to the development of their society.

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Swachh Vidyalaya – The Essential Elements

Operation and maintenance

Behaviour change activities

School sanitation and hygiene depend on a process of capacity enhancement of teachers,

The benefits of water sanitation and hygiene to school children

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