1.1 Introduction
The word sanitation operationally refers to the maintenance of hygiene conditions, through services such as garbage collection and waste water disposal so as not to endanger the health and welfare of people and also for the social and environmental effects, it may have on people (World Health Organization & UNICEF, 2012). Sanitation also refers to all conditions that affect the health of people in a geographical area. Sanitation can be seen as the policy and practice of protecting health through hygienic measures. In the view of the World Health Organization (WHO) (2007), sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces (WHO, 2007).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Student’s health has been a major contributing factor to their academic performances over the years because it determines the student’s ability to read and prepare for his examinations; it even defines the ability of the student to write very well inside the hall which are primary aim of a student going to school. Health defined by WHO is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental or social changes.
It is a widely accepted fact that students are known for their laziness and ego, many of them tend to leave their area of residence without taking care of it only to be waiting for cleaners to clean it for them but even as that the hostels are always very dirty because things are not done appropriately for example a student urinating in the front of the hostel where it shouldn’t be is indirectly calling for mosquitoes to breed around the hostel and this is also the case in the area of focus for this study, which is the Maurid Polytechnic.
Waste generation is a major cause of dirtiness in the hostel due to the large number of students and if not properly manage may cause a lot of harm than good, wastes are generated on daily basis through different activities of human being and if not disposed of properly the way it should, they lead to pollution of the environment having serious implications on the health of the students residing in the hostel (Earthwatch, 2007). Different institutional bodies have been set up at different levels for environmental sanitations and tertiary institution like the Maurid Polytechnic is of no difference so as to ensure that students waste are properly disposed in a quest for the students residing in the hostel to be in good health. In a study carried out by Ogeah and Ikelegbe (2007) reveals that students are nonchalant about the cleanliness of their hostels and their environment generally. They further illustrated that even with availability of cleaners that students contribute to the poor hostel sanitation practices and this go a long way to affect the students’ health. Students contribute to poor hostel sanitation practices by the laziness of students to use facilities provided by the school authority for waste disposal in the hostels. Outside cleaning their rooms in the hostels most of the students feel it is humiliating for them to tidy their surroundings. Even though the University system has hired cleaners to clean the hostels these cleaners are poorly supervised and with them not doing their jobs properly the hostel surrounding becomes a breeding site for all sorts of dangerous insects and pests such as mosquito which can expose the students to malaria, tsetse fly which when a student is bitten by will cause sleeping sickness and some many more insect with different health complications, even some students go as far as urinating and defecating indiscriminately outside the hostels because they cannot clean the dirty toilets themselves and in the long run they will still come to those polluted areas to carry out their daily activities like cooking, washing of clothes etc.
World Health Organization defined sanitation as the means of collecting and disposing excreta and community liquids, waste in a hygienic way so as not to endanger the health and welfare of beings and also for the social and environmental effects, it may have on people; people have been suffering from one disease to another without knowing the problems of their illness, the situation and due to distress or dirty environment (Earthwatch, 2007).
Therefore, in Maurid Polytechnic where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to examine the Practice of Hostel Sanitation and its Impact on Students Health.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that knowing fully the importance of cleanliness, sanitation and its effect on one’s health, one still find that the school hostels in Nigeria universities are very dirty. It becomes necessary to find out to what extent particularly students, in the universities are involved in hostel environmental sanitation considering the increase in the prevalence of diseases that are hygiene related. However, this research will focus on the examination of the hostel sanitation practices using the Maurid Polytechnic as a case study, and the its effect on the health of students.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Practice of Hostel Sanitation and its Impact on Students Health in Maurid Polytechnic. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To investigate the causes of poor hostel sanitation practices in school.
- To examine the level of hostel sanitation practices in school.
- To determine the effects of hostel sanitation practices on students’ health.
- To examine the relationship between hostel sanitation practices and implication on students health.
- To examine the extent in which the school management have contributed in providing facilities that will enhance hostel sanitation practices.
- To suggest strategies that could be employed to improve hostel sanitation practices in school.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Is there any relationship between hostel sanitation practices and implication on students’ health?
- What are the causes of poor hostel sanitation practices in school?
- What is the level of hostel sanitation practices in school?
- What are the effects of hostel sanitation practices on students’ health?
- To what extent has school management contributed in providing facilities that will enhance hostel sanitation practices?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant relationship between hostel sanitation practices and implication on students’ health in Maurid Polytechnic
- H1: There is no significant relationship between hostel sanitation practices and implication on students’ health in Maurid Polytechnic
1.7 Significance of Study
The following are the significance of this study:
- The outcome of this research will create awareness to both the general public and students staying in any tertiary institution hostel about the effect of hostel sanitation practices on their health.
- This research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the hostel sanitation practices and its effect on student’s health, thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Practice of Hostel Sanitation and its Impact on Students Health in Maurid Polytechnic in Akwa Ibom State.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definitions of Terms
Hostel: Hostels provide budget-oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen
Sanitation: Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes as well as the treatment and proper disposal of sewage or wastewater.
Practice: a theoretical term for human action in society
Effect: A result or change of something
Student: is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution
Health: Health is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental or social changes.
Environmental Sanitation: These are activities aimed at improving or maintaining the standard of basic environmental conditions affecting the well-being of people.
