THE ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS AND STAFF OF ASAMANKESE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION

ABSTRACT Environmental Sanitation is fundamental to health, survival, growth and development. Having a healthy school environment sets a school on track for development. Asamankese Senior High School is currently experiencing poor environmental sanitation. The main objective of the study is to examine the attitudes of students and staff of Asamankese Senior High School towards Environmental sanitation. The study adopted the descriptive sample survey. The main instruments used for gathering the data for the study were questionnaire and observation. This enabled the researcher to capture as closely as possible, the attitudes of students and staff towards environmental sanitation. The sampled population for the study consisted of 300 students and30 teachers from Asamankese Senior High School in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. The study revealed differences in attitude towards environmental sanitation among students and teachers. However, the general environmental sanitation condition in Asamankese Senior High School is not up to expectations. The research findings also showed that both students and teachers consider water shortage and littering as major environmental problems in Asamankese Senior High School. The study again found out that, inadequate dustbins accounts for the reasons why students and teachers litter. To ensure good environmental sanitation in schools, the study recommended that, there is the need to train teachers with suitable sanitation strategies while they are still at the Universities Colleges of Education. This will ensure that, by the time they come out, they are already acquainted with sanitation issues and strategies for their promotion and the roles they have to play to bring about effective sanitation practices in our schools.