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GOA

Sindhu Prabhu Dessai
Government High School Malkarnem
Quepem - Goa, Sanguem, South Goa
Email id: prabhudesaisindhu@gmail.com

Abstract

The major challenges facing this school were lack of awareness amongst students about personal
hygiene and sanitation, shortage of staff in the school, financial constraints and geographical
location.
Particularly striking was lack of knowledge and awareness among children, their parents and the
villagers about personal hygiene, sanitation and menstrual hygiene. There was low attendance of
students due to various types of illness, especially of girls during menstruation cycle and low
haemoglobin count adversely affecting their concentration levels and physical and mental well-
being. As initiatives by the school, a ―Swacchta Oath‖ is taken every day by students during
morning assembly. The corridor/passage is converted into a visual treat wherein there is rich
display of posters, wallpapers, charts and handouts related to personal hygiene and sanitation. Safe
ultra-violet filtered drinking water is provided to the students. The quality of drinking water is
tested once in a year. Students and parents are made aware of the benefits of drinking boiled water
and students are motivated to get boiled water from home to drink. Team of nodal teachers along
with members of Bal Sansad (Child Cabinet) ensure and monitor the use of Swacchta Kits by the
students. E-library (digital library) was set up in the school which is equipped with over 200 e-
books (fiction, drama, educational content, stories, creative, etc), 22 CDs, special e-learning
software by Pearson Education Limited, Bangalore, access to e-learning tools like e-pathshaala and
Pratham books. The school won the ―Swachh Vidhyalaya Puraskaar 2016-17‖ the National Award
for the best practices in sanitation, hygiene and infrastructure.

―A school is a building that has four walls with tomorrow inside‖ – Lon Watters

Socio-cultural context of the School

Located in the lap of Mother Nature, Government High School Malkarnem is situated in Quepem Taluka
of State Goa. The students come from the remote parts of the village. The simplicity of the villagers, the
natural beauty, adjacent temples and tranquillity makes the school location unique and special. Most of the
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