Evaluation of occupational health and safety practices and management in selected junior schools of Gaborone, Botswana

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the Occupational Health and Safety Practices (OHS) and Management of selected junior schools in South East and West of Gaborone and design a model that would help improve the safety conditions of learners and staff members. Concurrent triangulation design was used to evaluate the OHS practices and management amongst staff and learners from 7 selected junior schools in Gaborone. A sample size of 282 was determined for the study. Quantitative data was collected using self-administered questionnaires from 268 participants recruited through stratified random and purposive sampling. Through random sampling, 228 learners and 40 teachers who were purposively selected were involved in gathering quantitative data. For qualitative data, 22 participants were studied, comprising 2 focus group discussions of 8 non-teaching staff, 8 teachers, and 6 school principals who were purposively selected for in-depth interviews. Observation and photography was used to enhance qualitative data gathered. Quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software (version 22.0) and Stata version 12. Data was analysed at univariate, bivariate and multivariate levels. Nvivo (version 9) software was used to analyse qualitative data. The findings confirmed that junior schools in Gaborone area were not safe due to dilapidated buildings that are rarely inspected and maintained. In addition, Gaborone junior schools were not compliant to Occupational Health and Safety standards because most health and safety measures were not adhered to. The study recommends that staff and learners should be trained on OHS and that regular school inspections should be carried out so that maintenance can be done.