Pupils may wash hands again

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Apparently many students are still not washing their hands in school.

More than P22-million worth of hand washing facilities in some public schools had fallen into disrepair but were now being used again, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

Stung by criticism from the Commission on Audit (COA), the DepEd said it had ordered the school principals concerned to repair the faucets, sinks and pipes, and ask their local governments for a steady water supply.

In a report it issued last week, the COA said P22.6-million worth of hand-washing facilities in the public schools in two Metro Manila cities and two provinces had gone to waste since they had no water supply to begin with.

The facilities in the cities of Malabon and Navotas and the provinces of Biliran and Misamis Oriental were built in 2011 to promote good hygiene and prevent the spread of disease among students.

But when inspected in 2012, the COA found the facilities were mostly not working, had barely been used and many were useless since there was no water to begin with.

“The funds could have been allocated to other projects,” it said.

But the DepEd said the principal in Malabon City “had already addressed the water supply problem and all toilets are functioning.

It said the toilets in Navotas City were now operational, though one school has a problem due to low water pressure.

The school needs “only to apply for a new water meter to address the low water pressure,” the DepEd said.

“In Biliran, the lack of a water source has been addressed by the local government,” it said, pointing out that it was the local government that had asked for the hand-washing facilities.

The DepEd also said it had called the attention of the school principals in Misamis Oriental to fix their hand-washing facilities. Only four of 25 schools there had functioning facilities, according to the COA.