Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698835543678.pdf (Uganda)
THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT.

Statutory Instrument 281—20.

The Public Health (School Buildings) Rules.

Arrangement of Rules.

Rule Preliminary.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Citation.

Application.

Interpretation.

Compliance with Rules.

Classrooms.

Lighting and ventilation.

Classrooms.

Halls.

Boarding establishments.

Accommodation for boarders.

8.

9.

Accommodation for meals.

10.

Kitchens, diet and water supply.

11.

Latrine accommodation.

General.

12.

Drinking water.

13.

Floors.

14.


Playgrounds.

THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT.

Statutory Instrument 281—20.

The Public Health (School Buildings) Rules.

(Under section 70 of the Act.)

Preliminary.

1.

Citation.

These Rules may be cited as the Public Health (School Buildings) Rules.

2.

Application.

These Rules shall apply to all schools in Uganda the erection of which is completed after the 1st day of June, 1944.
Every school the erection of which has been completed on or before that date shall conform to the requirements of these Rules before 1st day of June, 1954; except that the chief medical officer may, after consultation with the chief education officer, exempt any school erected before the 1st day of June, 1944, from the operation of all or any of these Rules.

3.

Interpretation.
3.

Interpretation.

In these Rules— (a) (b) (c) “boarding establishment” means a school where pupils are received as boarders; “dormitory” means a sleeping room provided in a school for the use of boarders; “school” means any premises or area used or intended to be used by an assembly of not less than ten pupils for the purpose of receiving regular instruction.

4.

Compliance with Rules.


Every person who erects or maintains a school shall be responsible for the strict compliance in the school with all the requirements of these Rules.

Classrooms.

5.

Lighting and ventilation.


Every classroom shall— (a) (b) (c) be lighted in accordance with rules 175 and 177 of the Public Health (Building) Rules; be so arranged as to ensure, so far as is possible, that the main lighting falls on the left of the pupils; and be provided with ventilation in accordance with rule 179 of the Public Health (Building) Rules.

6.

Classrooms.
6.

Classrooms.

(1) Every classroom in a school shall be of such dimensions as to ensure suitable accommodation for the number of pupils who will use the room.
(2) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) In every case, the minimum measures of a classroom shall be— 200 square feet of floor space; 12½ square feet of floor space per pupil; 50 square feet of floor space per teacher; 14 feet length and breadth; and 10 feet mean height, except that in the case of classrooms normally used for the instruction of pupils in primary class I to IV, the area of floor space per pupil prescribed in paragraph (b) of this subrule may, with the consent of the chief education officer, be reduced to 10 square feet.
7.

Halls.

Where, in any school, a hall is provided for the occasional assembly of the pupils, the minimum amount of floor space per pupil shall be 5 square feet.

Boarding establishments.

8.

Accommodation for boarders.
In every boarding establishment— (a) suitable and sufficient sleeping accommodation in the form of dormitories shall be provided for the boarders in addition to the school classrooms; (b) (c) (d) separate dormitory accommodation shall be provided for pupils for each sex who are over seven years of age; the minimum floor space per pupil in every dormitory shall be— 30 square feet for each pupil under twelve years of age; (i) (ii) 40 square feet for each pupil of or over twelve years of age, except that where two-tier beds are used, the minimum floor space may be 30 square feet per pupil; in respect of beds— (i) the side of any bed shall not be placed within 1 foot of any wall of a dormitory; the distance between adjacent beds shall in no case be less than 2 feet; (ii) (iii) where there are two or more lines of beds in a dormitory, an unobstructed passage at least 2 feet in width shall be maintained at all times between each line of beds; (iv) all beds shall be so constructed as to permit of easy and regular disinfestation; (e) (f) the requirements for the lighting and ventilation of dormitories shall be in accordance with rule 5(a) and (c) of these Rules; and no foodstuffs shall be stored in any dormitory or other sleeping quarters in a school.
9.

Accommodation for meals.

In every boarding establishment, separate accommodation shall be provided where the pupils shall take their meals, and that accommodation shall not communicate with any dormitory except by a properly ventilated passage and shall be so constructed as to ensure a minimum floor space of 8 square feet for each pupil using the room.

10.

Kitchens, diet and water supply.


In every boarding establishment, there shall be provided to the satisfaction of the chief medical officer— (a) (b) (c) kitchen accommodation of suitable size, type and construction; a regular, sufficient and properly balanced diet for the pupils;and a water supply sufficient for all purposes, and proper washing and bathing accommodation for the pupils.

11.

Latrine accommodation.


(1) Every school, whether a boarding establishment or not, shall be provided with proper and sufficient latrine accommodation conforming to the structural and siting requirements of the Public Health (Drainage and Sanitation) Rules or any rules amending or replacing them.
(2) In estimating the latrine accommodation, the following shall be the minimum requirements, but in any particular case the chief medical officer may require special arrangements to be made— (a) water closets, or pit or septic tank latrine stances— (i) (ii) schools which are boarding establishments: one for every fifteen persons or fraction of that number which the school can ordinarily accommodate for purposes of residence; schools which are not boarding establishments: one for every twenty-five persons or fraction of that number up to one hundred persons which the school can ordinarily accommodate; above one hundred, one for every forty persons or fraction of that number; (b) (c) pail closets— (i) (ii) schools which are boarding establishments: one for every twelve persons or fraction of that number which the school can ordinarily accommodate for purposes of residence; schools which are not boarding establishments: one for every twelve persons or fraction of that number up to forty- eight persons which the school can ordinarily accommodate; above forty-eight, one for every twenty-four persons or fraction of that number; urinals—a reduction of 50 percent in the number of latrines required for males under this rule may be made where latrine accommodation, other than pail closets, is provided if urinal accommodation in the ratio of one stall or basin or at least 1 foot 10 inches of channel length for every twenty-five males or fraction of that number is provided.
(3) In schools used or intended to be used for the accommodation of both boards and nonboarders, latrine accommodation for the boarders and nonboarders shall be computed in accordance with the requirements of this rule for schools which are boarding establishments or other than boarding establishments respectively.

(4) In every school in which males and females are, or are intended to be, accommodated, separate latrine accommodation shall be provided for pupils of each sex over seven years of age.
Separate latrine accommodation shall in all cases be provided for teachers, and if teachers of different sexes are employed, separate latrine accommodation shall be provided for each sex.

The latrine accommodation shall be so constructed as to ensure privacy, and with the entrances for females effectively screened from those for males.
(5) So far as is practicable, no dormitory in any school shall be situated more than 60 feet from a latrine, and no school building used or intended to be used by pupils shall be situated more than 150 feet from latrine accommodation.

(6) When the level of the contents of any pit latrine is within 3 feet of the surrounding ground level, the pit latrine shall be closed for use and the pit completely filled up with earth.

General.

12.

Drinking water.


(1) Every school shall be provided at all times with a sufficient supply of wholesome drinking water.

(2) Where there is no piped supply, the water shall be provided in a clean receptacle and arrangements shall be made to ensure that the water is accessible without danger of contaminating the supply.

13.

Floors.
13.

Floors.

(1) Every floor in a school building shall either be an impervious floor or shall be made of hard rammed earth, and in the latter case shall, at least once in every week, be freshly daubed with swamp sand or cattle manure.

(2) All floors shall be so constructed as to enable every part of them to be regularly cleaned.
(3) For the purposes of this rule, “impervious floor” means a floor laid with cement concrete or with crushed laterite covered with two layers of a material approved by the chief medical officer.

14.

Playgrounds.

There shall be provided for every school and, where possible, adjacent to the school, an open space of sufficient size for the use of the pupils as a playground.

History: S.I.

269-10.

Cross References Public Health (Building) Rules, S.I.

281-1.
281-1.

Public Health (Drainage and Sanitation) Rules, S.I.

281-4.

_____