HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29368, 22 November 1960, Page 18

HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS

Board To Issue Circular

The Canterbury Education Board will soon issue a circular letter asking all schools to insist on high standards of personal cleanliness as a safeguard against infective hepatitis. This follows a recent discussion by the Canterbury School Committees' Association.

Mr W. P. Spencer, secretarymanager, yesterday issued the following statement:— “For some time, the board has been concerned with the spread of infective hepatitis and now feels that the public should be aware of the steps it has been taking over the last year or so to see that toilet and hand-wash-ing facilities are well up to recognised standards to ensure that every opportunity is available for children to maintain cleanliness throughout the school day. “Every school built over the last few years has been provided with a good water supply and with adeouate hand-washing facilities and in the country areas over the last five or six years more than 100 schools have been provided with modern toilet blocks, septic tank drainage, and washing facilities, with the result that the only country schools now without modern facilities are those few where, because of lack of water or some other reason, the desired installations can not be made.

“In some of the older city schools some facilities do not

measure up to the standard of new schools; but the board is allocated a small annual grant to improve the hand-washing facilities in these schools. Work in this respect has proceeded as ouickly as possible wherever practicable.

“The board is doing its utmost to help reduce the incidence of infective hepatitis: but as the ’argest number of reported cases has- apparently occurred in two city areas, where the schools are in accordance with the latest

standards, there does not appear to be a clear solution to the problem of combating the disease However, as a further effort, the board Intends to circularise head teachers to ask them to continue to keep before their staffs the need to encourage children in their personal hygiene at all times, particularly after using the toilet and before eating.”

Six More Cases Of Henatitis

Six more cases of infective hepatitis In the Christchurch district were reported to the Health Department last week. This is the same figure as in the previous week. Other cases of infectious diseases were three cases of tuberculosis and one case of pemphigus neonatorum. There were no deaths.