at school, the mistreated children’s bodies

If we want to improve the well-being of children, a priority assumed by the new Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye, can we still ignore their bodies? Because on closer inspection, a school day is also a series of physical constraints.

The student begins by getting up early – too early, for some teenagers whose chronotype is out of step with that of children and adults. He carries a school bag that is often too heavy – around 8.5 kg according to several estimates, while the Ministry of Education recommends limiting it to 10% of the child’s weight. He has lunch in an often noisy canteen, has limited recreation time, in a space that is not always suited to his desires. And, throughout the day, he suffers from a damage now recognized as the blind spot of the education system: the toilets.

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Considered dirty, even dangerous, toilets are avoided by 81% of students, according to a 2019 Harris Interactive study of children aged 6 to 11. Among them, 55% avoid drinking water to have less desire to go there. The problem has been the subject of repeated alerts from parents’ associations. National education has just taken the subject head on by distributing, before the summer, sheets intended to give the competent authorities on questions of school building priorities for the renovation of premises.

Children’s Privacy Request

At the origin of this publication, a consultation in which 10,000 respondents, including children, participated. “The issue of toilets really comes out very stronglyassures Sidi Soilmi, director of the school building unit of national education, which has existed since 2019. Kindergarten students tell us “I can’t go to the toilet because everyone sees me”. » To meet both the children’s demand for privacy and the security requirements that involve supervision, the Ministry now recommends, for this age group, “half partitions” which allow the child to be alone while being visible to an adult.

Safety issues, with respect to older students, can be solved by making the toilets “open” more, by removing the access door to the space where the taps are located or by installing a canopy – from so that only the cabins are truly isolated from view. “When there is traffic and you have the feeling of being able to be observed, you don’t have the same behavior”notes Sidi Soilmi.

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