Abstract:
The study sought to investigate implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) delivery by
rural primary schools in Bikita District. Four school heads and eight Early Childhood Development
(ECD) teachers from four schools were interviewed. An observation checklist was used to assess the
adequacy and age-appropriateness of WASH facilities. The research analyzed the capacity of WASH
policies to influence the vision, and implementation of WASH in ECD. It was found that WASH related
recommendations in the statutory instrument (SI) 106/2005 were too elitist and irrelevant to rural
primary schools in Bikita. The schools did not have age-appropriate toilets and rest rooms for the 3 to 5
year children. The schools depended heavily on donor subsidies for WASH resources and this
subsequently affected the sustainability of hygiene and sanitation activities once the resources were
finished, or broken down in the case of water boreholes. The teachers identified large teacher-pupil
ratios, teacher attitudes, and the absence of caregivers. This paper concluded that some careful
assessment is critical for the production of a research-based WASH in school policy that is not only
desirable but also feasible in terms of its capacity to address the educational and developmental needs
of 3 to 5 year old children.
