Govt orders to build toilets in schools for female students

The education ministry has ordered school management committees to build separate toilets for female students at their educational institutions keeping all the toilets always clean to prevent diseases.

In a circular issued yesterday, the ministry asked the committees to raise separate funds and appoint necessary staff to clean up the school toilets.

The circular said separate toilets for girls will have to be built at all educational institutions in the country. A plastic pot must be kept in the toilet.

Teachers will lead to keep the toilets clean, and toilet and sanitation committees can be formed at the institutions with scout and girl guides, it said.

Female teachers in every school will have to discuss about menstrual issues with female students, said the circular.

The ministry also asked the deputy commissioners to request local NGOs to launch publicity campaign for ensuring sanitation in schools.

Mentioning Bangladesh National Hygiene Baseline Survey 2014, the circular said every 187 students use a single toilet in a school, but 45 percent of the toilets remain closed for several reasons. The survey also said two-thirds of toilets do not have any facilities of water or soaps inside or nearby the toilets.

Unhygienic conditions and mismanagement in toilets cause health problems to girls, it said adding that most of the girls could not attend schools during their menstruation and therefore are deprived of their stipends for not having 80 percent attendance in schools.