Strategies to enhance teachers’ health and safety protection in kilombero public secondary schools, Tanzania

The study explored the strategies to enhance teachers’ health and safety protection in public secondary schools (PSSs) in Kilombero district. More specifically the study had three specific objectives: (1) To indentify available health and safety policies in PSSs; (2) to determine factors affecting teachers’ health and safety in PSSs; (3) to explore strategies used by educational officers to maintain health and safety of teachers in PSSs. The study employed qualitative approach using a case study; particularly multiple cases embedded study design. A total of 79 respondents were involved in the study including 16 individual teachers, 23 science teachers, 31 female teachers, 06 school heads, 01 DSEO and 02 health professionals. The sampling techniques used were purposive and snowball techniques. Relevant data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, documentary reviews and observation. The qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. The findings revealed the following: Firstly, there was no specific policy advocating on PSSTs’ health and safety issues in schools. Instead schools are using policies in form of directives from standing orders, legislation acts, circulars, heads of schools practical guides, and other documents like the whole school inspection checklist. Secondly, there were circumstances affecting health and safety of teachers in schools that led to teachers’ poor working ability caused by poor breakfast and lunch services; occupational diseases; occupational hazards; sexual harassment and job stress. The outcomes of these problems were found to be teachers’ absenteeism and turnover, resulting to poor performance of students in schools whereby in rural based schools the situation was worse. Thirdly, there were inadequate health and safety protective facilities as well as absence of trainings and programs on health and safety provided to teachers. Fourthly, limitation of funds was found to be the biggest challenge for ensuring health and safety protection to teachers supplemented by the lack of specific health and safety policy to teachers. Fifthly, strategies used to maintain health and safety of teachers were; school heads used their own money for emergencies, advising schools affected by floods to plant trees in schools, paying extra funds to teachers working in difficult environments, planning to; increase teachers’ houses, provide emergence transports to schools with difficult environment and renovate old schools. The study concluded that, the absence of specific policy on health and safety of teachers in schools has led to low awareness and knowledge and poor enforcement of teachers’ health and safety protection in schools. Hence the study recommends that;(1) specific health and safety policy in schools should be made to increase awareness, knowledge and enforcement in promoting teachers’ health and safety (2) infrastructures such as roads, school buildings, teachers’ houses, health and safety protective facilities should be improved to avoid unnecessary accidents (3) there should be regular health and safety programs and trainings to staff and non-staff teachers so as to raise awareness of how to work in proper way considering health and safety matters (4) health and safety services to teachers should consider groups such as gender, disabled and skill options such as science teachers (5) use of chalk with dust should be prohibited and the use of dustless chalks in schools to be promoted.