With more and more learners returning to school, it is all hands on deck to ensure adequate hygiene and sanitation measures are in place, particularly in the time of Covid-19.
With so many schools across the country still not having access to basic water, hygiene, and sanitation services, the training and up-skilling of school cleaners, in order to keep learners and staff safe, has become paramount.
Sadly, school sanitation in South Africa continues to lag.
It is estimated that nearly 4 000 of the country’s 24 000 public schools still use pit latrines whilst 3 500 institutions face water supply challenges.
These challenges require a unique approach to cleaning communal spaces in order to protect learners, teachers, and support staff against germs, viruses, and life-threatening waterborne diseases, while the Covid-19 pandemic places even more necessity on these hygiene practices.
Trained school cleaners are an often-overlooked link in the hygiene and sanitation chain, yet they play a critical role, according to Unilever, which kickstarted its Domestos Cleaner Toilets, Brighter Future school cleaner training programme two years ago.
“School cleaners are powerful change agents within the education system when they are empowered with the right tools, education and information, especially at this time,” said Mandisa Mbenenge, Unilever PR brand specialist of home care.
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She said that Unilever, over the past two years, has helped train school cleaners in over 1 000 public primary schools in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo.
“The programme educates cleaners on how to thoroughly clean and sanitise their school’s facilities and environments to protect the health of themselves, learners, and teachers.”
As the Covid-19 pandemic has made the role of school cleaners more complex, it has evolved the Domestos school cleaner training programme, which has now gone digital.
This has been a game-changer, said Mbenenge.
“Going digital allows us to reach 23 000 South African schools, with the potential to protect 12 million children”.
The training content is dispersed via email and WhatsApp.
“This makes it highly convenient for cleaners to use as a reference during their cleaning duties.”
In the meantime, Unilever is working with the government and other partners to address the issue of pit latrines.
“By the end of this year, we will have replaced pit latrines with flushing toilets in nine schools, while educating over four million Grade One learners with good toilet hygiene habits through the national schools’ hygiene and sanitation programme,” Mbenenge said.
