Poor sanitation in schools is contributing to weak academic performance among pupils, with inadequate access to toilet and handwashing facilities creating an environment that is not conducive to effective learning, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Technical Specialist at World Vision Ghana, Yaw Atta Arhin, has warned.
According to Mr Arhin, sanitation is often treated as a secondary issue in school infrastructure planning, with greater attention given to classrooms and learning materials.
He said having classrooms, desks and teaching materials alone was not enough to guarantee academic excellence, stressing that proper sanitation was equally essential to creating a conducive learning environment.
Mr Arhin made the remarks during a panel discussion at the Clean Conference on Friday, August 21, 2026, held under the theme, “Assessing Ghana’s Progress Towards UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
His comments followed a discussion on why several schools across the country continue to lack functional toilet and handwashing facilities despite evidence linking poor sanitation to absenteeism, particularly among girls during menstruation.
The WASH expert said the connection between sanitation and academic performance should not be overlooked.
According to him, pupils who struggle to access safe and functional toilet facilities are less likely to perform well academically.
He attributed the situation largely to the low priority given to sanitation in school development and called for a broader definition of what constitutes essential educational infrastructure.
Mr Arhin, however, noted that the challenge goes beyond the provision and maintenance of sanitation facilities, pointing to weaknesses in Ghana’s institutional arrangements for the sector.
He argued that the absence of a dedicated operational agency responsible for implementing sanitation policies from the national level to communities and schools remains a major challenge.
He questioned who is responsible for taking sanitation policies developed by government ministries to the grassroots for implementation.
Mr Arhin contrasted the sanitation sector with the health sector, where institutions such as the Ghana Health Service and other specialised agencies are responsible for implementing government policies.
He therefore called for the establishment of appropriate operational agencies with clearly defined responsibilities to drive sanitation implementation across the country.
According to him, without such institutional structures, sanitation could continue to suffer from a lack of clear ownership and accountability.
He stressed that establishing the necessary operational agencies would help bridge the gap between sanitation policies and their implementation in schools and communities.
Mr Arhin warned that until this missing link is addressed, sanitation could continue to be treated as “nobody’s business,” with serious consequences for public health, school attendance and academic performance.
