Pic: Edex Live
Pic: Edex Live

Cleanliness workers to be appointed to ensure hygiene at government schools in parts of Tamil Nadu

A salary of Rs 12,000 for full-time workers and Rs 7,000 for part-time workers has been recommended

Heads of the education associations have requested the School Education Department to come forward to make plans to ensure hygiene at government schools. A secondary teacher, S Krishnaveni at Panchayat Union Primary School at Mogappair in Chennai, told TNIE, "With the 240 students studying here, we have been forced every time to search for cleanliness workers who belong to the corporation, to clean the toilets. Toilets are cleaned twice or thrice weekly by the workers. For this, money is given to the workers after collecting it from the teachers."

"Sometimes, children hesitate to use the toilets if they are in poor condition. As per my thinking, toilets should be cleaned at least two times a day as nearly 200 students are using the toilets daily. Like this school, as many as 40 primary schools are facing the same issue in the block. The government should give a solution for this matter," she said. 

A postgraduate teacher, K Sudha, in Erode district told TNIE, "Many of the students are not drinking water in school as they have to use the toilets. Toilet conditions would be in poor condition. Particularly, girl students have been facing urinary infections. If toilets are in good condition, they will use toilets. Political parties, teachers associations and educationists do not talk about the ground reality of toilet cleanliness and appointing the cleanliness workers in the government schools," she said worryingly. 

Meanwhile, Tiruppur-based Kalvi Mempattu Kootamaipu (KMK) has sent some recommendations for hygiene at schools to the School Education Department. KMK coordinator Su Moorthy told TNIE, "State government does not give importance to the sanitary conditions of schools. So lakhs of students are suffering at school due to unhygienic situations. To solve this issue, two cleanliness workers should be appointed in all government schools under the consolidated pay to clean the campus and clean the toilet. Cleanliness workers who clean the campus and classes to be worked part-time and other cleanliness workers to be appointed as full-time. To protect them, safety gear to be provided and at least a salary of Rs 12,000 for full-time workers and Rs 7,000 for part-time workers to be given," he recommended. 

Palli Kalvi Paathukappu Iyakkam district coordinator, P Chandrasekar told TNIE, "SMC has given guidelines to maintain hygiene effectively at schools. The schools ensure handwashing, water, clean toilets, sanitary napkin disposal machines (high and higher secondary schools) and purified drinking water. In reality, these are dreams to students in a majority of government schools in the state." Repeated attempts to reach School Education Secretary Kakarla Usha went in vain.

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