School Sanitation and Hygiene Education: A Focus on Rural Community Basic Schools in Ghana.

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the impact of School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) on Basic schools pupils in the Akontombra district in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality in Western Region of Ghana. It was in an attempt to find out how pupils practise sanitation. One hundred respondents made up of 50 boys and 50 girls drawn from the target population were sampled randomly and purposively. Data was gathered mainly with the aid of interviews and questionnaires. The study revealed that improving hygiene and sanitation of school children is a significant factor for achieving good educational outcomes. It was also realized in the ten schools where the study was conducted that school sanitation and hygiene education did not have any significant impact on the pupils in the area. Thus schools and stakeholders will have to emphasise the implementation of SSHE. It was recommended among others that the government, in collaboration with Ghana Education Service (GES) should organise workshops for school health coordinators and empower them with skills that will enable them handle issues related to hygiene and sanitation with confidence.

Keywords: improving sanitation, hygiene, educational outcomes, practice, health.