Tamale, April 20, GNA – Saint Charles Senior High School (SHS) has topped the league table of the Northern Region’s inter-SHS Open Defecation Free (ODF) and sanitation programme.
The school was ranked first amongst 39 other SHSs in the region for active practice of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and the absence of open defecation in the school.
It scored a total of 92 marks based on eight assessment criteria, which included access to latrines by staff and students, absence of open defecation, proper use and maintenance of latrines and the efforts to stop open defecation.
The team of assessors visited the participating schools unannounced to inspect latrines and other WASH facilities based on the set criteria.
Sang Community Day SHS came second with 91 points, followed by the Al-Maktoum SHS with 90 scores.
The first three schools on the league table were presented with citations in recognition of their efforts, and to boost their commitment towards WASH.
They received the awards at the launch of the second SHS Open Defecation Free league table in Tamale on Wednesday.
It was organised by the Northern Regional Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) in collaboration with the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) and the Regional Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (RICCS).
Mr Joseph Timiebu, Senior House Master of St. Charles SHS, after the announcement of the results and the awards, expressed joy at the feat chalked, saying the schoolwork hard towards it.
He said St. Charles SHS, as part of its commitment to WASH and general hygiene, made students to pick the school compound between the hours of 05:30 and 06:30 after Mass on daily basis.
He said students, with the help of the school’s health master and prefects, were dedicated to keeping all latrines and bathhouses clean even though there were water challenges.
Nkoteen Nkilchibi Jonathan, Assistant Health Prefect of St. Charles SHS said in the quest to end open defecation and keep the compound tidy, they allocated areas to each class and constantly moved students to burn refuse around the compound.
He gave assurance that the school would maintain the standards, saying “There is someone, who cleans our toilets, but we took the cleaning up by ourselves to meet the standard of the assessors. »
Mr Iddrisu Abdul Karim, Headmaster of Sang Community Day SHS said the school inculcated cleanliness in the students, which accounted for its second position on the table.
Rosemary Wayo
