Schools sans potable water will be provided same this year: MoE
View(s):All schools with no proper source of drinking water will be provided drinking water facilities within the year, under a programme drawn up by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
The MoE has identified 1,223 schools which have no drinking water source within the school, and currently rely on wells or streams in the neighbourhood, as the existing water sources has been polluted. Some of the schools are currently provided water by bowsers.
Rs 1.3 billion has been allocated for this project, as well as improvement of sanitation facilities in the schools.
The majority of the schools have been identified in the North Western Province- 228, followed by Central Province- 228, North Central Province- 178, Uva Province- 134, Sabaragamuwa Province- 126, Eastern Province- 125, Northern Province- 103, Southern Province- 53 and Western Province- 37.
Under the project, the quality of the drinking water from other supplies including wells, will also be checked. Currently, water supply to 4,161 schools are from wells, while 90 schools receive water via bowsers. Another 600 schools receive water via streams or water spouts.
Minister of Education Akila Virja Kariyawasam said funds will be directly provided to the school to improve the water source.
He said that a school medical inspection and a school health programme has been launched so that Public Health Inspectors and MoH office representatives could check and provide monthly reports on the water quality in the schools.
He said that, if they receive reports that a water source is contaminated, they would obtain funds from the Presidential Secretariat to install Reverse Osmosis plants to provide purified water, and resolve the issue immediately.
- Damith Wickremasekara