Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
From Our Readers
Poor hygiene and culinary standards in school

We are now going through a major challenge for health conditions around the world. With the H1N1 virus attacking all walks of life particularly the vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, children and the elderly, everyday many are falling prey to the virus.

While most people will get only a cold, the flu can be much more serious especially now due to the H1N1 outbreak. In schools, it is very important that the teachers teach students how to practice good hygiene. The Malaysian Association of Standards Users conducted a mini-survey among school students around Malaysia last year with regards to food poisoning, toilet facilities and hand-washing habits.

Hand-washing is a simple habit, something most people do without thinking. Yet hand-washing, when done properly, is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick. This simple habit requires only soap and water.

The survey showed that 15% of the students did not wash hands before they ate during recess and 41.7% of the students said they would wash hands only sometimes. Students were asked whether they washed hands with soap after going to the toilet and 36.6% answered ‘yes’. However, 36.8% said they did not wash hands after using the toilet and 26.6% said they would do it only sometimes and not all the time.

If we merge those who did not wash hands and those who did it only sometimes, it amounts to 63.4% and this shows a significant number. Such students are exposing themselves to the risk of getting infections. In other terms, it is called fecal-oral transmission.

Worse still if the same student doesn’t wash hands before eating and this contributes to a high risk of food-related illnesses such as salmonella and E coli infection, the most common cases of food poisoning that we see in the newspapers.

The students were also asked whether their schools provided soap in their toilets and in the canteen. From the survey, it showed that 65.6% of the students said the schools did not provide soap in the toilets or canteen for the students. Students commented that even if it were provided, the soap was of the dish-washing type to be diluted with water.

Another 14.7% of them said it was available only sometimes. The survey also showed that 96.4% of students want the schools to provide them with proper hand-washing facilities and soap while 84% of the students believed that such facilities could reduce the causes of food poisoning and other diseases in schools.

Washing hands with water alone will not kill germs. You definitely need soap as well. Some of the schools provide detergent in a container or dishwashing liquid in a container for the students to use but this is not the proper method. There should be a liquid hand wash soap which comes in a pump bottle to reduce contamination.

When it comes to food, 33.3% of the students said the food served in the canteen was not healthy. Some students commented that most of the food was ‘fast food’ and there was not much fresh fruits or vegetables. They also complained that the canteen food was not tasty and was very expensive.

We urge the health and education ministries to look into this matter seriously. It should be made compulsory that the every school provides its students with soap in order to encourage them to wash hands. The food prepared must also be well balanced meals and not fast food.

The writer is attached to the Malaysian Association of Standards Users.

ADS