Ten schools in the Kathmandu Valley have been selected to pilot a new education programme to be run jointly by the Nepalese Ministry of Health, the UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme and Environment Conservation Camp (ECCA). If the programme is a success, its methods will gradually be introduced into the school curriculum.

The Human Value Based Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education (HVWSHE) programme aims to change behaviour, personal attitudes and understanding of the values of water and sanitation. Dr. Roshan Raj Shrestha, Chief Technical Advisor of UN-HABITAT South Asia Region said that it was imperative to provide information on water and sanitation to the new generation.

Staff from the Curriculum Development Centre, the National Centre for Educational Development and teachers from schools in Kathmandu Valley took part in an orientation programme in Lalitpur in December 2008. The participants in the programme were briefed on human values-based water and sanitation education by Ram Shrestha of ECCA, Dr. Art Ong Jumsai and Sister Loraine Burrows, experts on Human Values-Based Education from the Society for the Preservation of Water, Thailand.

Related news:

• Nepal: water and sanitation to be taught in schools, Source South Asia, 30 Sep 2008;
• Sri Lanka: schoolchildren learn the value of safe water and good sanitation, Source South Asia, 02 Sep 2008

Web sites: UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme; Environment Conservation Camp/HVWSHE ; WASH in Schools

Source: NGO Forum, 28 Dec 2008

Tags: hygiene promotion, information and communication, sanitation, school sanitation, south asia