The recent loss of two students of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, to epidemic diarrhea and vomiting, is a painful reminder of the poor state of hygiene in many schools in the country. The two students, identified as Vivian Osainiyi and Bithia Itulua, succumbed to the infection, which affected hundreds of the other pupils.

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No fewer than 16 of the students were admitted into various hospitals, with nine discharged, one in the Intensive Care Unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, and three at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.
The Lagos State Government, which released its findings on the epidemic last week, also said that laboratory analyses of the water sources in the school kitchen and the school’s water factory, showed that they were contaminated with Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Coliforms and many other bacteria. Samples collected from 40 kitchen workers also showed that 23 of them had cysts of the bacteria, Entamoeba histolyca, in their stools, while the causative agent for Typhoid Fever, Salmonella Paratyphi, was isolated from three of them.
The investigation identified the epidemic as Enteric Fever spread by contaminated water sources and food handlers. The school principal, Dr. Lami Amodu, has since been transferred, and the school closed down, while an order by the Federal Government to reopen it last Sunday because of the approaching Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) is drawing the ire of some of the parents. The Lagos State Government, on its part, has advised that the school be shut down to allow for a proper treatment of the school’s water system.
The avoidable loss of lives to the epidemic at this choice public school is regrettable. The incident is symptomatic of the scant attention paid to sanitation and health in many schools, including the high profile Federal Government Colleges. It is, indeed, shameful that the authorities of the highly regarded Queen’s College failed in their duty of care to the students.
Apart from the allegation of the contamination of the school’s water system, concerned parents of students in the school have said that the school’s facilities, especially the toilets, are not properly maintained. The Federal Ministry of Education has also launched its own investigation into the incident.
This is not the first time Queen’s College is in the news for wrong reasons. Last year, it was rocked by a scandal when a female student accused a male teacher of sexual harassment. The investigation of that allegation was not concluded to the satisfaction of the public.
We hope that the investigation of this epidemic will not end in like manner. We want openness in the probe. The matter should not be swept under the carpet because human lives are involved. The health of students is very important. Without good health, there can be no effective learning.
The government should provide functional sickbays in its colleges, and ensure that the facilities are provided in all schools. All schools should also be provided with potable water. The Federal Government should set a good example in this regard by providing good water in all its Unity Schools. The food served to students should also be monitored to ensure that it is of good quality and adequate quantity. Greater attention should be paid to school sanitation. Their water sources should be far removed from septic tanks. The bathrooms and toilets should also be kept in good condition. Food handlers in schools should be regularly tested for bacterial infection so that they do not contaminate school meals.
We commiserate with the two families that lost their children in this sad incident and urge that sanctions be visited on those who, through acts of omission and commission, caused this tragedy.
The Federal Government should use the Queen’s College incident to review the sanitary condition in this school and other Unity Colleges with a view to addressing it.
Let the officials of the Federal Ministry of Education pay unscheduled visits to these colleges to keep their principals on their toes.  The Federal and state governments, as well as all private school proprietors, should do everything that they can to avert such incidents in future.