DISINFECTION OF SCHOOLS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2603, 27 October 1915, Page 3

DISINFECTION OF SCHOOLS

SPRING-CLEANING ONCE A WEEK,

The Rev. H. Van Staveren, of tie Terrace Sohool Committee, waited on the Education Board yesterday to urge that some system should be adopted for the more effective disinfection of schools than is now the case. He suggested that each of the schools under tho board's control might he thoroughly ■disinfected at least once a. year. The chairman (the Hon. J. G. W. 'Aitken) said that the subject matter introduced by, Mr. Van Staveren was not |by any means new to the board, and he ■read a letter received from the Health .Department in 1912, which indicated • : that Mr. Van Staveren's notion of disinfecting once, a year was not a .very safe, thorough, or effective method of house- ' keeping. The Department in its letter said tnat ordinarily disinfection was only the beginning of <*ood house-keep-ing, and that- a school should be springcleaned once a week, floors, walls, and everything else, whilst the slates should be thoroughly cleaned daily.. That would do more good than an occasional springcleaning. The arrangement made by the board was for the inspectors of the Hospital and-Charitable Aid Board to do the work of disinfecting when it was •needed. . • Mr. Van Staveren stated that he hardly needed to point out that the committees could not afford to have the schools spring-cleaned once a week. He thought if the schools were thoroughly .cleaned and disinfected once, or better, still, twice, a year', it would bo a great ■improvement on the present system. Mr. T. Moss mentioned that in connection with tho country schools the district nurses would, he thought, b© only too glad to render all assistance. Ho mentioned the reports on schools made by' Dr. Elizabeth Gunn, which were seldom acted upon. With the co-opera : tion of the district nurses, they might be able to cope more successfully with malnutrition and other ailments she reported on. -