MoE Guidelines on Boarding facilities – Toilets/Latrines/Washrooms, Kitchen/Dining Hall, Library, Staffrooms, Laboratories

The following are the measures to be implemented to ensure safety in dormitories and other boarding facilities.

1. Dormitories or halls of residence shall be adapted to ensure social distancing with no congestion and maintain at least a distance of one meter between the beds from all directions and if possible, boarding will be optional.
2. Learners/trainees with disabilities will be provided with appropriate health and hygiene boarding facilities/requirements to ensure that they are protected from the COVID-19 disease.
3. Dormitories including all its facilities and sections should be well ventilated to ensure the circulation of clean air to avoid dampness.
4. The dormitories’ floors must be appropriate material to enable smooth cleaning and disinfecting and having good drainage.
5. Safe waste collection bins should be adequately provided in the dormitories and must be emptied frequently to keep the environment clean and safe.
6. Adequate clean water should be provided in the dormitories for purposes of drinking, bathing, laundry, and frequent washing of hands.
7. Liquid soap and clean running water should be made available to learners/trainees at all times.
8. The use of double-decker beds must meet social distancing of at least one meter between each occupying them.
9. Learners/trainees will not be allowed to share personal items such as shoes, slippers, clothes, towels, toothbrushes, beds, shoe brushes, etc.
10. All surfaces and equipment such as light switches, windows, and doors, stair rails among others in the dormitory should be cleaned and disinfected every day.
11. Bed linens and towels should be washed weekly and dried under direct sunlight. Areas surrounding dormitory premises must be clean and kept free from waste, rubble, and stagnant water to avoid contamination.

Laboratories

The following are the guidelines to be adhered to in the case of laboratory premises.

1. Learners/trainees should not share Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as lab coats, footwear, safety goggles, gloves and glasses, and face shields.
2. Laboratory equipment should not be used by unauthorized persons.
3. Reagents and chemicals used frequently should be kept under lock and key and their utilization controlled by the teacher or authorized staff.
4. Learners/trainees using the laboratory at any given time should always observe social distancing of at least one meter.
5. All institutions should have age and gender appropriate; and disability-friendly toilets for learners/trainees and staff.
6. Laboratory floors, frequently touched items, and other surfaces should be frequently cleaned and disinfected.

Toilets/Latrines/Washrooms

For toilets or latrines or washrooms, they have to also be set in a particular manner or number to meet the required stipulations in the guidelines provided by the ministry of educations.

They should be kept clean and well maintained as well as being adequate in the ratio of one door for 25 girls and one door for 30 boys.

Toilets should be adequate in schools and properly maintained to prevent the spread of diseases. A clean and healthier environment for learners/trainees, non-teaching staff, and teachers will help in the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus.

The environment around the dormitories should be free from rodents, insects, and other vermin.

The guidelines provided for toilets/latrines/washrooms are as follows.

1. Toilets should be disinfected three times a day.
2. Ensure cleaning and disinfection supplies such as chlorine, a mop, and detergent are available.
3. Sanitary disposal bins for female trainees and learners should be provided in the toilets.
4.  They should have proper cover and pedal to avoid touching by the learners/trainees.
5. Break times shall be staggered to limit the number of learners who visit the toilet at any given time.
6. Doorknobs and other equipment that are frequently touched are cleaned every day with alcohol-based detergents.
7. Cleaning of the toilets should be done by responsible adults equipped with basic PPEs (boots, gloves, and masks, and trained on safe disinfection practices of toilets.
8. Provide adequate running water adjacent to all toilets. Liquid soap should be made available to learners/trainees at all times.

Library

The library is another crucial and important premise that students visit frequently to study, borrow books for a limited timeframe, or return books they had borrowed. It is a meeting point and as such, there are guidelines provided by the ministry of education that will have to be followed. These guidelines are:

1. Furniture/shelves should be cleaned and disinfected every day.
2. Handwashing facilities should be available in the library.
3. Learners/trainees should be kept at a social distance of at least one meter apart in all directions.

Kitchen/Dining hall

This is where students usually go for meals. The following guidelines are to be followed.

1. Food handlers in schools and cleaners will have to wear PPEs to promote basic health and hygiene.
2. Learners/trainees should wash their hands thoroughly with clean water and liquid soap before and after eating.
3. Tables and chairs shall be well spaced at a distance of at least 1 meter apart.
4. Staggered eating shifts by classes/cohorts will be considered where the population is high to avoid overcrowding in the dining hall and where it is possible, classes to be used for afternoon snacks and lunches.
5. Sharing of food and utensils is prohibited.
6. Utensils and cutlery to be kept clean before use by cooks and learners/trainees.
7. Cloth, liquid soap, and water for cleaning/disinfecting kitchen surfaces shall be provided.
8. The institution shall consider storing each learner/trainees’ food container and utensils separately possible so that each learner/trainee uses the same items every day and therefore ensure no mixing up of the items.

Administrative offices and Staffrooms

With teachers normally congested in staffrooms in some schools, the ministry has also provided guidelines to be used in department offices, staff rooms, and areas where school administrators and teachers are normally assembled.

1. Furniture should be cleaned and disinfected every day.
2. Offices and staffrooms should not be congested and the staff must maintain social distancing of one meter apart in all directions.
3. Clean running water and liquid soap/sanitizer should be provided in all offices and anyone entering or leaving should sanitize or wash their hands.
4. Break times shall be staggered to limit the number of teachers in the staffroom/offices at any time.
5. Staff meetings shall adhere to social distancing measures. Where possible, staff shall find other ways of communicating via memos, mobile chats, text messages, and emails.