ABSTRACT
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WinS) programs are critical to ensuring a healthy and conducive learning environment in schools. The Department of Education (DepEd) has emphasized the significance of proper hygiene, sanitation, and access to clean water in schools to support the physical and cognitive development of students. However, the successful implementation of WinS programs often varies across different school divisions, resulting in gaps in health and safety standards.
In the Division of Batangas Province, the WinS program plays an integral role in maintaining student well-being and fostering a healthy school environment. Despite these efforts, challenges such as inadequate water supply, poor sanitation facilities, and inconsistent hygiene practices continue to affect schools. The gaps in the program's implementation have the potential to impact student attendance, performance, and overall health, leading to the need for a more systematic and sustainable approach.
This action research aimed to assess the current implementation of the WinS program in the Division of Batangas Province. By identifying key areas of improvement, the research will provide the basis for developing a targeted intervention program that addresses the challenges faced by schools in meeting WinS standards. The findings from this research will serve as a roadmap for creating a more effective and comprehensive WinS implementation strategy, promoting better health outcomes and academic performance among students.
The rationale for conducting this research is rooted in the observed gaps in the current WinS implementation, which threatens the overall learning environment. A thorough analysis of these challenges will enable stakeholders to develop a responsive and evidence-based intervention that aligns with DepEd’s national WinS framework. This will not only ensure the health and safety of students but also enhance their educational experience by providing a cleaner, safer, and more supportive environment.
Context and Rationale
The advocacy on the promotion of correct hygiene and sanitation practices among school children and a clean environment has been the government’s priority through the Department of Education to keep the learners safe and healthy, excel academically and develop to be productive citizens in the country.
Every learner has the right to a secure and healthy learning environment, with a focus on fair access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Schools should have access to drinking water from an improved source, functional, gender-separated improved toilets, and handwashing stations with water and soap, at the very least, to fulfill the basic service requirements for WASH. Since putting WASH in Schools (WinS) at the core of school-based management (SBM), the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has seen enormous progress. The relevance of WinS as essential to the personal and environmental hygiene required for the safe functioning of schools has been further underscored by the COVID-19 epidemic. Schools must incorporate specific pandemic preparedness and response procedures into their daily operations, which will elevate WinS to a new level of SBM.
Along with this WinS policy came the implementing guidelines on the use of a digitalized incentive-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. For the WinS monitoring, DepEd has adopted the Three Star Approach (TSA). This is a stepwise approach that allows the school to reach the national standards for WinS by defining national priorities, setting benchmarks, and incentivizing and recognizing achievements. To date, DepEd has been using the online WinS monitoring system that allows the schools upload their own assessment of their WinS status annually.
The DepEd WinS Program in the implementation of water, sanitation, and hygiene in school program is designed to achieve learning and health outcomes of Filipino students through a comprehensive, sustainable, and scalable school-based WASH program pursuant to the State’s mandate to defend the right of children to dignity, assistance, and protection from conditions that would hamper their development.
The study aims to assess the implementation of water, sanitation, and hygiene in school program in Batangas Province. The findings of the study shall become the basis in the formulation of the proposed intervention measures plan of action.
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