AFC will not be allowed to replace pit latrines without permission – Minister Baksh

Sep 23, 2008 News

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…claims issue being politically motivated
It is the belief of Education Minister Shaik Baksh that the issue of pit latrines at public schools have taken on a political undertone.
The minister’s observation was highlighted yesterday during a press conference at which he expressed concern that his deliberations on pit latrines were taken out of context in articles that appeared in both the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News.
The issue of pit latrines at schools in the hinterland became a matter of discussion after a nine-year-old student of Santa Rosa fell into a cesspit and consequently died.
According to the minister, he was out of the country during the past week; and upon his return, he perused the newspaper, only to be confronted with several articles in the named newspapers on the issue of pit latrines in the school system.
However, the minister noted, in many instances he was misrepresented.
“I have been taken out of context, and also it seems that it may have been intentional on the part of some sections of the media. I don’t know for what reason, but clearly I want to set the record straight…”
The minister said that pit latrines are in fact an acceptable form of waste disposal and thus are in many schools across the country.
He noted, too, that it is beyond the capacity of the Education Ministry to simply change from pit latrines to a septic tank solution overnight, adding that such a process would take a number of years as well as a significant amount of finances to complete.
Further, he disclosed that there is likely to be some problem in the riverain and mountainous areas in particular, where septic systems would be more of a challenge to implement but yet is a goal that the ministry is working towards.
“I made the point to the media that, in the housing sector, when I was Minister of Housing, several of our housing schemes were built with pit latrines because there were no pipeline and no water supply. The media failed to report on this matter. In this housing scheme, we started to transfer some pit latrines to septic tank solution.
In fact, the Ministry of Housing at that time gave households $20,000 to purchase sand and cement so that they could build septic tanks, and many of our schemes have moved away from pit latrines because they now have water supply…”
And this is what is intended for the education sector, according to the minister. He said that the sector is moving incrementally, and as resources become available, pit latrines will be converted to septic tank system, a strategic plan which, according to the minister, was completely misrepresented in the Stabroek News.
“I want to quote what was said in the Stabroek News: “Baksh is quoted as saying that his Ministry does not intend to phase out the use of pit latrines in schools since they were internationally accepted as a proper form of sanitary disposal.” This is not so! We will move gradually, and as resources become available we will move towards septic tank solutions, this is the plan…and this is being implemented by the Ministry of Education.”
According to the minister, in the 2005/2006 period, the Education Ministry spent over $1 billion to facilitate repairs and maintenance to schools, of which a major component was dedicated to building good sanitary blocks.
He added that wherever it was feasible, all new schools that were built of recent were fitted with sanitary blocks.
As part of the ministry’s Education for All Fast Track Initiative Programme (EFA-FTI), which is directed primarily at the hinterland community, the minister said, over the last two years, 37 sanitary blocks were constructed in areas where there was water supply.
He disclosed, though, that wells were drilled in some areas at exorbitant costs to facilitate the implementation of the sanitary blocks.
Another 50, he said, are slated to be constructed over the next two to three years under the EFA-FTI programme.
“It must be borne in mind that we have 1000 schools in this country…It is a big task and it is a challenge, but we are moving in that direction…”
And while the situation in Santa Rosa following the death of the student is being closely examined, the minister disclosed, a mere 30 per cent of schools in Region One have septic tank solutions.
He admitted, though, that even the schools that have septic tank solutions are forced to retain their pit latrines because, during the long dry season, water is not available to aid the disposal of waste.
“I have confirmed this with the regional administration, and I know that is so from my own visits…So you have to retain, in some cases, the pit latrine.

They go hand in hand in some communities.”
And also under the EFA-FTI programme, the minister said, there is a school improvement plan where over 150 schools were each given $1M to enhance the school environment. Among the schools that benefited are Santa Rosa, Mabaruma and Wauna, all in Region One.
“The money was sent to the region, and I have learnt that the schools are in receipt of these sums. At Santa Rosa, where this tragic and very regrettable incident occurred, the school has put up, as part of the project, to build sanitary facilities…This is a part of the plan; we will not be pushed into it…” the minister warned.
He opined that the whole situation is being transformed into a “political agenda,” with the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) speaking out on the issue of pit latrines in schools.
“For example, Mr Trotman said that he is outraged by the statements made by the Education Minister, and of course he is quoting from the Stabroek News…and Stabroek News has an editorial ‘In the Pits’ and they are misrepresenting what I’ve said and what we stand for in the Ministry of Education…There seems to be a political agenda in all of this,” Minister Baksh chided.
And even though there have been statements that suggest that the AFC will attempt to facilitate the construction of flush toilets for hinterland schools, the minister pointedly warned that the AFC will first have to seek permission.
“I want to tell the AFC that it cannot and will not be allowed…It will have to be done only with the permission of the school’s management, the Regional Education Department and the Regional Administration…It will not be allowed to just go to the schools; it has to get approval from those bodies and, finally, perhaps the ministry.”
According to the minister, while the ministry accepts assistance from international organisations such as the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and Non-Governmental Organisations to assist school improvement, the AFC will not be allowed to use this avenue to foster its political agenda.

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