By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Feb. 16

Dearth of proper and safe toilets in school premises is one of the reasons for girl students’ dropping out before reaching the secondary level education, studies and survey revealed.

Surveys on water and sanitation (WATSAN) carried out by different government and private organisations and UN HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal showed that 59 per cent of public and community schools across the country did not have any toilet. This dearth of toilets has contributed to the increasing rate of girl dropouts per year.

As per a government report, the rate of girl dropouts has increased by six per cent in the span on seven years. The dropout rate in 2001 was 6.5 per cent while it rose to 12.5 in 2007.

The report stated that although 1,48,000 toilets are constructed annually in the country, only 10 per cent poor people have access to toilets. Similarly, 13,000 children under the age of five die annually because of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, cholera which are caused mainly by poor sanitation and hygiene.

Kamal Adhikari, socialist and an official at the Environmental and Sanitation Section under the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage said that the supply of clean water to the people was still a difficult task as the gap between safe drinking water and sanitation was quite large.

"Meeting the target for sanitation is a major challenge to Nepal," Adhikari said while giving orientation to about 30 media persons presenting 25 different media houses on Sunday.

Media orientation was jointly organised by Guthi, UN-HABITAT and Environment and Public Health Organisation (ENPHO).

As per Millenium Development Goal (MDG) the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation should be reduced by halve by 2015. MDG Goal for water supply and safe drinking and sanitation both should be reached up to 90 per cent by the end of 2015.

Adhikari said that 54 per cent of the population still defecate in open spaces. As a result the rich people living at Kathmandu and outer parts of the valley who do have modern facility of safe drinking water and sanitation were directly or indirectly affected due to contaminated, unhygienic drinking water, he said.

Rajesh Manandhar, water and sanitation coordinator of Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal claimed that even after reaching MDG on sanitation, 1.8 billion people of the world would still be without access to basic sanitation in world.

Manandhar said that 46.3 per cent of the urban households are without basic facilities of safely supplied drinking water and 45.6 per cent are without sanitary system.

"Until and unless concerned authorities including the government do not implement policy and show its commitment, challenges on proper sanitation and safe drinking water problem will remain in days ahead," he said.