Only 7,000 of Ghana's 125,000 Schools Have Toilet Facilities - PAC Says

• A Public Accounts Committee member, Sebastian Fred Deh, has publicly warned that Ghana faces a 94.5% deficit in school toilet facilities
• MP Sebastian Fred Deh attributed the crisis to the failure to include sanitation in school construction projects under GES
• The sanitation gap has particularly affected adolescent girls, who miss classes during menstruation due to the lack of safe facilities

Ghana is grappling with a severe school sanitation crisis, with a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member sharing that only 7,000 of an estimated 125,000 schools across the country have toilet facilities, a deficit of 94.5%.

Kpando Member of Parliament and PAC member Sebastian Fred Deh made the revelation on July 30, 2026, while speaking on the committee's report following stakeholder engagements on school sanitation.

He attributed the staggering shortfall to decades of school construction under the Ghana Education Service (GES) that routinely excluded sanitation facilities from building plans.

Read also

University admissions: Narcotics Control Commission pushes for mandatory drug tests

Deh warned that the omission has seriously compromised hygiene standards in schools and continues to harm the welfare of millions of pupils nationwide.

The consequences extend well beyond discomfort: inadequate toilet facilities heighten the risk of communicable diseases and disrupt the learning environment for both pupils and teachers.

Adolescent girls bear a disproportionate burden of the problem. Many are forced to stay away from school during menstruation because schools lack safe, gender-appropriate facilities, a situation that deepens educational inequality and threatens long-term outcomes for girls.

GES and MMDAs urged to act - PAC

Deh called on the GES and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strengthen coordination so that all future school infrastructure projects incorporate adequate toilet facilities as a standard requirement rather than an afterthought.

School sanitation has been a persistent challenge in Ghana despite several Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives rolled out by successive governments with support from development partners.

Progress has remained uneven, with underserved communities continuing to lag far behind urban centres.

The PAC's findings bring renewed urgency to the issue and underscore the need for a more deliberate, coordinated response from the GES, MMDAs and development partners.

Read also

Ibrahim Mahama steps in to fund return of Ghanaians from South Africa

Closing the sanitation gap in schools is also central to Ghana's commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which targets universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030.

Sam clashes with Osei-Asare at PAC sitting

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a heated exchange unfolded on Monday, May 18, during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting involving the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, and the Chairperson of the Committee, Abena Osei-Asare.

The disagreement centred on concerns about alleged poor service delivery by MTN Ghana and quickly escalated into a tense back-and-forth.

The confrontation emerged during discussions on telecommunications service delivery challenges, where Sam George linked the issues to what he described as weak policy decisions and governance shortcomings under the previous Akufo-Addo administration.

Source: YEN.com.gh