‘Right to sanitation essential component of standard of living’
LUCKNOW: Himanshu, a student of Class 5, is popular as ‘Prime Minister’ in this primary school and loves to be addressed by this title as he is an elected member of Bal Sansad (children’s cabinet) in the institution. He was overjoyed when Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg pulled a chair and sat next to him on Monday!
Solberg visited the government-run Primary and Upper Primary schools in Nithora village of Ghaziabad to take stock of the facilities available for students. Interacting with children, Solberg, said, “It is inspiring to meet the students, teachers and parents in this village. I view education as fundamental to sustainable development. Access to quality education is a universal human right and is the key to unlocking opportunities for all, so that everyone can enjoy a better life.”
Pleased to see the democratic set-up of the school, Solberg congratulated the UP government, school authorities, and community members for making the institution an inspirational model, providing quality education and facilities for hand-washing, toilets and safe drinking water. “We believe that the right to sanitation is an essential component of the standard of living. Good sanitation facilities result in high retention of girl students in school. India is making impressive strides in education, and I applaud the work that the local community and Unicef are doing,” she said.
Himanshu’s friend Ritika, the ‘health and sanitation minister’ in the ‘Bal Sansad’ was given the responsibility to look after the hygiene part of the school.
“I made sure that there are soaps in toilets and hand-washing areas so that my friends can wash their hands after using toilet and before and after mid-day meal,” said Ritika.
Speaking on the occasion, district magistrate, Ghaziabad Ritu Maheshwari, said, “We are proud that Ghaziabad district is Open Defecation Free and that almost 100% of households have built toilets, which are in regular use.”
DEMO OF MOBILE APP, EEKSHA
Norway Prime Minister Solberg saw demonstration of the mobile app, Eeksha, used for supportive supervision in classrooms. The app is being used in over 1,60,000 schools across UP for supporting quality education. She also met young boys and girls from the ‘Meena Manch’ who highlighted
issues of girls’ attendance and enrolment in schools. ‘Meena Manch’ is a young people’s collective platform for empowerment of girls at the school level.
Later, the PM spoke to parents during a session on Life Skills Education (LSE) and met young mothers and infants to understand how community health workers are saving newborn lives.
“This school is a wonderful example of how communities and authorities can work together to ensure that every girl and boy gets quality education in school. Girls’ education is one of the best investments that India can make for its future,” Yasmin Ali Haque, Unicef India representative.
The school has witnessed sharp increase in enrollments and attendance in the last couple of years. Thanks to the good infrastructure and participation of teachers that has made school a favourite place for children in the village, said a basic education department official.
Himanshu, the ‘prime minister’ in the school’s child cabinet, said, “It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes for all students to have their hands washed. The reason is that there are so many taps and soaps here that no one has to wait for long.”