N$15 for toiletries, sanitary pads
Needs of girls and boys taken into account
Schools will be monitored to determine whether the Dignity Project, if implemented, has the desired impact.
The education ministry has increased the funding for health and hygiene products for needy pupils to N$15 per learner.This amount must be used to buy toiletries and sanitary pads. The total amount for health and hygiene has therefore increased to N$12.26 million per year, based on the 819 749 pupils currently registered in schools across the country.
However, Minister Anna Nghipondoka warned that although several ministries are involved in providing sanitary products to pupils, the responsibility must also be shared by parents. She emphasised that all ministerial programmes take into account the health and hygiene needs of girls and boys.
"We have seen the decline in the participation of boys because we do not take their needs into account," she said.
According to her, since 2016, schools must allocate N$5, multiplied by the total number of pupils enrolled at the school, to the Dignity Project from which the products are purchased.
"The allocation per pupil includes all learners in a school, including those who do not need it, for example, boys and young pupils as well as those who are not considered needy and can afford it themselves," explained the minister.
According to her, the use of the school grant, in addition to the allocation per pupil, provides for health and hygiene products in the sense that the school provides a maximum starting amount of N$2 000 for primary schools and N$3 000 for secondary schools. This money is for a project that generates income for the purchase of sanitary products and other essential toiletries for needy pupils.
Sustainability
"The starting amount is separate from the award per pupil. It must be sustained through donations and fundraising to ensure the sustainability of the Dignity Project,” explained Nghipondoka.
She acknowledged the possibility of a lack of implementation of the relevant programmes by leadership at schools and said monitoring will be intensified to determine whether the Dignity Project has the desired impact.
Needy pupils who qualify for the donations are identified by life skills teachers in all schools in the country.
Concerning the school grant policy, the minister says it provides for the equal allocation of grants to schools based on their socioeconomic status. Individual pupils' needs in particular orphan and vulnerable pupils are considered.
According to her, the ministry spent N$439 385 this year to donate dignity packs, which include toothpaste and sanitary pads, to 1 480 boys and girls in Omusati and Ohangwena.
The community-led school sanitation program (CLSS) also focuses, among other things, on the management of menstrual hygiene (MHM) which requires schools to have an MHM club that must include both boys and girls.
According to Nghipondoka, the programme has been in four regions since 2018, namely Ohangwena, Kavango East and West and Zambezi, while Omusati also joined this year. According to the minister, schools that have the CLSS programmes in their schools try to make sure that sanitation facilities are available for all pupils especially for girls to safely dispose of their used sanitary pads. Regarding sanitation, Nghipondoka says another 70 sanitation facilities were built this year between June and September.
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