Poor school performance blamed on hygiene

Poor hygiene in schools has in the past been a nightmare and at times mentioned as one of the causes of poor performance especially in rural schools. Last year schools like Groupe Scolaire APERWA, College de Mwendo, APACE Kabusunzu, Ecole Amis des Enfants Kagugu, and ESSA Nyarugunga risked getting closed because of poor hygiene. According to Joseph Habumuremyi, the teacher in charge of Health at Groupe Scholaire, Remera Catholic, poor hygienic conditions are among the causes of poor performance among schools. “Children are getting cheated out of a quality education by the dire state of water and sanitation facilities in schools. This damages a student’s ability to learn. “Good hygiene in schools is fundamental towards reducing the level of illness and keeping children in schools.“We need to broaden the concept of what we call quality and what we expect from education which is more than writing and arithmetics,” Habumuremyi explained. Claudine Umutoni a teacher at Remera Protestant Primary School said that, “Poor quality water and lack of sanitation facilities was responsible for the underperformance of some schools in the country.” “Parents should ensure that a child goes to school after bathing. They should teach children the etiquette of good body hygiene,” Umutoni said. Teachers also have a role to play. Children learn by seeing and so teachers should lead by example. “Teachers should come to class well dressed and clean. Shabbily dressed teachers portray a bad image to their students,” she added. Therefore the collective responsibility between parents and schools should be in place. Head teachers whose schools are found lacking in hygiene should be penalised. Kanye_frank@yahoo.co.uk