Journal of Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences

Background & Aim: School is a place for nurturing the children talents and plays a substantial role in constructing healthy people. This study conducted to compare the environmental health and safety status of governmental and non-governmental primary schools in Kashmar in 2015-2016.

Methods: This is a descriptive/cross-sectional study conducted on 31 governmental and 14 non-governmental primary schools in Kashmar city in 2015-2016. To collect data, the designed checklist approved by ministry of health was filled through interview, observation and inspection. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22 and Excel 2007 software using Fisher's exact test and Chi-squared test.

Results: Based on the obtained results, regarding the building status, safety status, buffet status and environmental health indices, 86.51%, 83.87%, 49.7% and 95.16% of governmental schools and 77.67%, 83.68%, 78.58% and 88.57% of non-governmental schools were in suitable situation, respectively. Governmental schools were significantly better than non-governmental schools as a matter of school area and proper school plan (p˂0.05). On the other hand, non-governmental schools were significantly better in terms of buffet health than governmental schools (p˂0.05).  

Conclusion: In conclusion, the results show that privatization do not necessarily improve environmental health indices in primary schools. To have a healthy and safe school, proper management, increase in allocated budget for schools and strict monitoring by health centers are required.