Swachhata Pakhwada

The Government of India is observing Swachhata Pakhwada every year since 2016, which has become a successful mass movement with the annual participation of millions of children and other functionaries besides members of the community. This year, the Swachhata Pakhwada is scheduled from 1st to 15th September 2024.

For observing the Swachhata Pakhwada in a befitting manner with focused participation resulting in cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene drive and other related activities, the schools may organize the following suggestive activities during 1st to 15th September 2024:

1. Swachhata Shapath may be organised in all schools, wherein all students and teachers/ staff may participate.
2. Holding meeting of SMCs and PTAs in the first week of the Pakhwada to highlight the importance of cleanliness and sanitation, importance of hand-washing, promoting water conservation/ rain water harvesting practices during the Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs); and to encourage and inspire them to continue with the good practices for hygiene and sanitation in school as well as home.
3. Teachers to inspect water and sanitary facilities in the school, do a quick assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and make proposal/ plan for repair and upkeep of the facilities, if required.
4. Essay/ Slogan/ Poem Writing, Painting, Elocution, Quiz, Model Making Competitions for students on cleanliness and hygiene practices in school.
5. Swachhata awareness messages to be posted on school website. Alternatively, photographs on Swachhata may be displayed in schools.

The teachers and management of school may also undertake following activities:

1. All kinds of waste material like sanitation waste, used and disposed masks, broken furniture, unusable equipment/ defunct vehicles etc. should be completely removed from the premises of schools and disposed off as per procedure.
2. Banning use of single use of plastics within school premises.
3. Teachers and students in association with local representative, should propagate the theme of the Pakhwada among family members and in nearby areas.
4. Awareness about stopping the use of Single Use Plastic and mitigation of plastic pollution, while adhering to 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) principle.
5. Daily cleaning and disinfection of frequently used surfaces.

Suggestive Action Plan for Swachhata Pakhwada is also given in Annexure A.