HEALTH MATTERS: Osun School Classroom Converted To Open Defecation Spot

 

By Francis Ezediuno

The attention of the State of Osun Ministries of Health and Environment has been drawn to the unhealthy act by some residents of Ifon town in Orolu Local Government Area of the state as they defecate openly in some schools.

One of the schools where such act is rampant is AUD Elementary School, Ifon.

OSUN DEFENDER’s visit to the area showed that within the school premises, there is an abandoned classroom which has been converted to a makeshift open defecation spot where pupils and residents visit to answer nature’s call.

A resident in the area said that the stench oozing from the classroom has now become totally unbearable, a situation which is giving the school authority and concerned parents cause for worry.

According to a teacher, the school authority has been helpless because a good number of the teachers are not residents of the town and several attempts at getting the Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES) Department of the local council to act has fallen on deaf ears continually.

He explained that the act was not always perpetrated during school hours but before and after school and during the weekend break.

The health implications according to the health officials would be costly, as the state of health of the children and also staff members could be compromised as a result of the foul smell oozing from the affected sections of building.

They urged the state government to intervene in the situation so as to avert an epidemic of adverse proportions since it involved an elementary school where innocent children were supposed to get educated and not a ticket to their early grave.