Condition and functionality of toilet facilities in public boys’ secondary schools in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

This research is aimed at assessing toilet facilities in public boys’ secondary schools in Kano metropolis with a view to pursuing proper sanitation and hygiene among the students. Primary data were sourced from field observation and administration of questionnaire. Simple random sampling and convenience sampling techniques were used to select the samples of the study. The study reveals that 40.77% of the schools have 1-5 toilets, 32.31% have 6-10 toilets, 26.41% have 11-15 toilets while 0.51% of the schools have more than 15 toilets. This shows that majority of the schools do not have enough toilets when the number of students is compared with the number of toilets. This severe shortage leads to overcrowding, long queues during break times, and some students resorting to open urination in hidden corners of school compounds. Also, the condition of toilets in the schools across Kano metropolis is generally poor as, 25.56% of the toilets are in fair condition, 29.23% are in poor condition and 24.2% are in a very poor condition. This means that the majority of the toilets in the schools in the study area are in a poor condition. This will certainly affects the sanitation and the learning condition of the school. The research further revealed that 35.13% of the students opined that lack of regular cleaning is the challenge they face the most in using the toilets, 14.62% lack of soap and water, 42.05% broken or dysfunctional facilities and 0.082% poor waste disposal.. This makes the students feel uncomfortable in using the toilets which can result to many problems as learned in the research. It was therefore recommended that the government and school authorities should prioritize the construction of more toilet units in public secondary schools to meet the student population’s demand, also a structured maintenance schedule should be implemented for all toilet facilities, with designated staff responsible for cleaning and maintenance.