School toilets: A seemingly small but not so small matter

Parents' top concerns

On the first day of going through the procedures to enroll her child in first grade, Ms. NA, residing in Tan My Ward (old District 7), Ho Chi Minh City, went to see the school's restroom. Seeing that the place was clean and spacious, just like the "review" (previous introduction) online, she and her husband felt secure. "I witnessed many children coming home from school and running straight to the restroom instead of daring to use the restroom in the school. This is not good for their health in the long run," said Ms. NA. When looking for a place for their children to study, in addition to a school with a reputation for teaching, many parents also want the school to meet criteria such as clean facilities, clean restrooms, and quality, safe meals.

PHOTO: THUY HANG

At the 2025 summer school health worker training session organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training in June with the participation of hundreds of school health workers, the two issues that the management staff of the Student Affairs Department (formerly the Political and Ideological Department) required schools to pay top attention to and prepare well this summer were school toilets and ensuring food hygiene and safety.

School responsibility and student awareness

Ms. Cao Thi Thien Phuc, Head of the Student Affairs Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, said that in reality, many schools in Ho Chi Minh City manage and operate toilets very well, cleanly, and are highly appreciated by parents and students. However, many places still receive complaints. The core issue, according to Ms. Phuc, is that to keep school toilets clean and beautiful, not only does it require regular cleaning staff but also the awareness of students. Ms. Phuc believes that students' awareness determines up to 30% of whether school toilets are clean and beautiful or not.

A teacher and medical staff at a high school in Long Binh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Thu Duc City) shared with Thanh Nien Newspaper reporter: "No matter how new the toilet is, no matter how hard the cleaning staff is, if the students' awareness is poor and they do not maintain general hygiene, it cannot be clean and beautiful." To prove it, the teacher said that before recess, the staff cleaned the toilet, but after recess, the place became both dirty and smelly. Students threw toilet paper everywhere, many naughty students sprayed water all over the floor, even removed the latches of the rooms, leaving several holes in the doors. Notably, once this teacher smelled cigarette smoke near the school toilet, ran into the male student area to check but saw nothing. It turned out that these students had sent someone to watch outside, and if anyone came to check, they would report it to the students inside to get rid of the evidence.

Ms. Cao Thi Thien Phuc also emphasized the responsibility of each school and school health workers. According to Ms. Phuc, in addition to cleaning and being on duty, school health workers need to propagate and educate students about this, which is very important. Staff can do this skillfully, integrating it through educational activities to help students understand their responsibilities in maintaining school toilets. At the same time, schools regularly arrange people to be on duty and check toilets before and after recess, at the beginning and end of school hours, etc. From there, health workers and school staff will detect problems that are not good to advise and propose to school management staff.

Consider school toilets as "clean resting corners"

One of the schools that has done a great job with restrooms in recent times is Tran Hung Dao Primary School, Cau Ong Lanh Ward (formerly District 1), Ho Chi Minh City. Here, restrooms are equipped with air fresheners, ventilation fans, mirrors, and hand towels, creating a "clean resting corner" for students.

Ms. Le Thanh Huong, the school principal, said that in each restroom there is a cleaning logbook that clearly states the time of work, with confirmation signatures from the staff, team leader and vice principal in charge. The staff are trained and work with a professional and dedicated attitude in the spirit of serving students. At the same time, the school also installs surveillance cameras outside the restrooms to support monitoring, reminding and promptly handling arising situations.

In particular, the school organizes and develops a self-managed student group called the "Green Shirt Team". In this group, students are encouraged to promote and remind each other, creating a habit of maintaining hygiene. The school board also conducts regular and surprise inspections to ensure that the quality of the toilets always meets requirements.

"We integrate the content of school hygiene culture into class activities, flag salute activities and experiential activities. Every year, the school organizes the topic "What I want to say" to listen to students' voices, contributing to building a school that is exactly as they wish," Ms. Le Thanh Huong shared her experience in operating and managing school toilets effectively.

PHOTO: THUY HANG

In addition, in Ho Chi Minh City, there are many very clean school toilets. For example, at Nguyen Van Phu Secondary School, Binh Thoi Ward (formerly District 11), since the 2011-2012 school year, 5 toilet areas have received funding from the state to repair and renovate. Over the past 10 years, the school and parents have worked together to keep the toilet areas clean, beautiful, and safe, so that students feel comfortable when using them. In the female toilet area, the rooms are spacious and airy, including a menstrual toilet with a bathroom and electrical outlets so that students can dry their hair and clothes if they get wet...

Trung Trac Primary School, Phu Tho Ward (formerly District 11) has 8 toilets, with a total area of 384 ^m2 . All are clean and beautiful thanks to the effective management and operation of the school staff, teachers on duty, and school board.