Current Safety and Hygiene Practices and Trends in Primary Schools in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe

Betty Shoko & Lois R. Mberengwa
Midlands State University, Zimbabwe
Email: shokob@staff.msu.ac.zw

Abstract: In Zimbabwe, the health of learners is increasingly at risk of contracting diseases and injuries emanating from their involvement during cleaning activities at school without personal protective equipment (PPE). The current study assesses the safety and hygiene practices and trends in primary schools by not only assessing facilities but also the cleaning activities learners engage in and strategies being employed to safeguard the health and safety of learners in the school environment. An explorative case study design was adopted involving eight purposively selected primary schools. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observation guides, and document analysis from heads of the eight schools. The data were analysed thematically and then presented qualitatively. Findings indicated that a lack of resources, and technical, as well as administrative know-how, is hindering the implementation of measures necessary to safeguard the health and safety of learners during cleaning activities. The findings also indicate that there is little or no government, arent, and community involvement in health and safety activities in primary schools. The study recommends that, as learners cannot avoid participating in school cleaning activities because it is a cross -cutting aspect of the school curriculum and general life skills training; efforts be made to ensure their safety through the use of appropriate PPE, and instead of waiting until their coffers hold enough money to implement big projects, schools should start with small changes, which are financially feasible.