Water and Sanitation in Tanzania Primary Schools

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF
TANZANIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
PAPER ON:
WATER AND SANITATION IN
TANZANIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Prepared
by
N. A. A. Urassa
January 27, 2009

WATER AND SANITATION IN TANZANIAN PRIMARY
SCHOOLS
Does it enhance learning for pupils?
Water, hygiene and sanitation facilities are of paramount importance in primary
schools,
Water is a basic necessity for human life, with daily consumption n as follows:
for drinking
For food preparation
For hand washing after toilet use, before and after food preparation and
consumption, and for washing utensils.
o
o
o
For promotion of hygiene and sanitation to control and prevent t transmission of
diseases such as diarrhoea, , skin diseases, soil transmitted helminthes/ worms and
schistosomiasis
For gardening and tree planting so as to improve environment, food od production and
income generation also can become a change agent for the community.
For rehabilitation and construction of school infrastructure
NB: : Without adequate water provision the above mentioned activities s cannot
be implemented or promoted at all.

Status of Provision of Water and
Sanitation in Primary Schools
The National target MKUKUTA on provision of
latrines is 100% by 2010, i.e. at a ratio of 1:20 for
girls and 1:25 for boys
The number of pupils was 7,959,884.
With 3,908,208 girls and 4,051,676 boys in a total of 14,700 schools.
Status for enough standard latrine coverage in schools by 2006 is: i
Required 333,899 pits/holes
Actual 129,944
Deficit 203.955
This shortage has been aggravated by increased enrolment (from 5,981,3385
by
year 2002 to 7,959,884 by year 2006) which did not address the basic b
facilities
such as water, hygiene, and sanitation in line with increased enrolment.
(Source; Best 2004 – 2008)

The table below shows sanitation and
water provision in 10 schools in Mwanza city
in 2007
School Holes Water?
Actual Required
M F Total
Mkudi 618 643 1261 9 45 -
K/hewa 568 687 1255 7 52 v
Bondeni 396 430 826 6 41 v
N/Nolo 382 473 855 7 41 v
Kiloleli 393 408 801 7 41 -
Hekima 380 415 795 7 41 -
Ibungilo 445 467 912 5 41 v
Mwenge 312 329 641 5 27 v
Karume 261 304 565 2 27 v
Ghana 276 266 542 2 27 v
Total 4031 4422 8453 57 383

Challenges
Inadequate funds for provision of water by drilling shallow
or deep wells depending on water table,
Procurement of water pipes to facilitate the services
Long distance to fetch water from rivers for different
services in school
Facilitating rain water harvest
Inadequate water, hygiene, and sanitation causes low
enrolment, reduced attendance, and retention
Inadequate water, hygiene and sanitation causes
psychological disturbance, especially for mature girls,
resulting in poor attendance and unsatisfactory
performance in their lessons, compared to boys.
Inadequate toilets cause long queues of pupils during
breaks

Achievements
The government through PEDP II (2007 - 2011) has planned
to:
reduce the inadequacy of toilets by constructing them each
year as shown below:
2007 56500
2008 17864
2009 17864
2010 17864
2011 17864
Total 127,956
This leaves a deficit of 75,999 if enrolment remains constant.

Achievements
provide water in schools by rain harvesting
through provision of water tanks
Stakeholders such as councils,
communities, NGOs, and individual
Development Partners have supported
Government efforts to alleviate the situation

Conclusion
The water supply is a vital facility in our
schools to improve the environment by having
standard hygiene and sanitation. Education
stake holders, including the community are
urged to join efforts with the government in
this endeavour.