PESHAWAR, June 26: Over 400 school teachers and administrators will be trained on health and hygiene matters with the assistance of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) by December to promote appropriate hygiene behaviours and sustainable use of water and sanitation facilities in schools.

This was stated by Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE) Director Eid Badshah at a workshop on life-skills based hygiene education in schools here on Tuesday.

“The training would be held under the auspices of the School Sanitation and Hygiene Education Centre,” said Zohra Nisar Hunzai of Unicef.

She said lack of water and sanitation facilities contributed to low enrolment and high dropout rates in schools. Providing water and sanitation facilities in schools reduced the risk of diseases, helped children perform better and influenced parents and out-of-school children for sanitation and health improvements, she said.

The centre’s provincial Coordinator Ihsanullah said over 44 per cent primary schools in the NWFP lacked water and 32 per cent were without toilet facilities.

However, in many schools, the facilities were either non-functional or not properly used, he added.