By Nasratu Kargbo
Audit Service Sierra Leone in its Performance Audit report on the implementation of the School Feeding Programme reported that water and sanitary facilities remain a challenge in schools.
The report says this is a result of the absence of infrastructural development.
In the area of access to water, the report explained a situation in a school called BDEC Primary in Yelisanda, where the children had no water to drink during or after eating because they had no access to water within the school premises. It stated that the well in the school premises had dried up.
Other primary schools such as Islamic in Panguma, and Al-Harrkan at Mabanta were also reported to lack water.
The report highlighted the essence of water that it says teachers, pupils, and those in charge of handling food needs.
The report also displayed pictures of schools with very poor toilet facilities and named two schools in Panguma namely Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood (SLMB) and National Islamic Primary, and Al-Harrkan in Mabanta.
Pictures were shown of dilapidated unhygienic toilet structures with no doors.
In the aspect of food preparation and sharing, the report explained how about 90% of the schools monitored do not have a structured kitchen or pantry to prepare and share food.
This has led to food being cooked in the open and shared with children on the floor, the Audit said “without proper hygiene and sanitation, food could be exposed to germs, flies, bacteria which could also contaminate the food thus posing a great risk to the health of pupils”.
The poor hygiene was attributed to lack of training, noting that “there was also no evidence that hygiene and sanitation training was conducted for the women responsible for the preparation and sharing of meals, hence this could be another reason for the unhygienic situation”.
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education was urged to ensure that food preparation and hygiene standards in schools are improved through continuous training of cooks and regular monitoring of the quality of food prepared for the school children.
It added that the ministry should make sure that available, clean, and safe water together with adequate sanitation facilities are in schools.
In addition, it was suggested that the ministry develops strategies that will involve other stakeholders in ensuring that schools benefiting from the feeding programme have the necessary infrastructures in place. The ministry was advised to prioritize training on the importance of adhering to health and sanitation standards when food is being prepared and served.
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