Bauchi, UNICEF move to tackle poor facilities in schools

The Bauchi State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund have begun moves to address inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools through the implementation of a five-star WASH initiative.

The initiative is aimed at improving hygiene practices, reducing disease outbreaks and providing pupils with a safe and healthy learning environment.

Stakeholders from relevant government agencies and development partners discussed strategies for implementing the programme at an inception meeting held on Thursday in collaboration with the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office.

The meeting was organised to familiarise participants with the objectives and implementation framework of the initiative, clarify their responsibilities and strengthen collaboration towards providing functional water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools.

Speaking at the meeting, the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Isah Baba, represented by his Senior Special Assistant, Abubakar Mansur, said the state government was working with development partners to improve basic education infrastructure.

He said functional and well-maintained WASH facilities were essential to effective teaching and learning, adding that the government was also engaging traditional institutions to improve school enrolment, retention and transition.

Baba disclosed that the SUBEB chairman had commenced engagements with traditional rulers across the state’s 20 emirates to secure their support for the initiative.

He said, “It is largely on WASH facilities, which are critical in our schools. These facilities, when available and maintained, will enhance teaching and learning.

“We have taken proactive measures to mobilise traditional rulers and seek their support in terms of ownership of the schools, improving enrolment, retention and transition of pupils.”

The SUBEB chairman, however, expressed concern over the poor utilisation and maintenance of facilities provided in some schools, noting that some had been vandalised despite the huge resources invested in them.

He said the five-star approach would strengthen collaboration with UNICEF and other development partners while encouraging communities to take ownership of school facilities.

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Also speaking, the General Manager of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Sama’ila El-Pateh, emphasised the need to sustain WASH facilities to protect children and maintain healthy school environments.

El-Pateh pledged the agency’s technical support towards the effective implementation and sustainability of the initiative.

Earlier, the UNICEF Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, represented by the WASH Specialist, Stella Okafor, described access to functional water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools as a fundamental right of every child.

She said the initiative was designed to identify gaps in school sanitation and hygiene services, address infrastructure deficiencies and promote positive behavioural practices.

Rafique said, “Every child deserves to have access to functional and improved WASH facilities in school.

“WASH should no longer be treated as a project but as a core component of education investment.”

She disclosed that data from 2021 indicated that more than 60 per cent of schools in Bauchi State lacked basic WASH facilities, describing the situation as a major challenge requiring urgent intervention.

According to her, the five-star approach goes beyond providing infrastructure to include behavioural change, proper utilisation and maintenance of facilities.

She added that improved hygiene practices would help reduce the spread of diseases and prevent contamination of water sources.

Rafique urged government agencies, traditional institutions and other stakeholders to take ownership of the initiative and ensure that the discussions translated into practical interventions.

“This is a call to action by all those seated here to make sure that our children have functional WASH services as a right,” she said.