How should classrooms be equipped for the students’ comfort Essay

Since pupils spend much of school day indoors, adequate lighting and fresh air should be provided in classrooms. In this study, most classrooms were adequately lit by natural light although a few had artificial lighting (electricity). It shows that lighting did not interfere with pupils' learning process. Classes observed had well-designed windows that provided adequate ventilation. The basic education act recommends that the number of children in a classroom shall not exceed fifty (50) pupils (GoK, 2013). There were some instances of congestion in classes in some schools that had pupils to classroom ratio of more than 150. This could impact negatively on the quality of indoor air. The congested environment in classes could lead to pollution of air that could result in an increase in cases of asthma, allergies. It, in turn, affects student performance of mental tasks involving concentration, calculations, and memory (Berry, 2002). A significant proportion of walls were not clean. Dirty walls are not only unappealing but also a distraction to the learners, therefore, affecting their performance. Furthermore, over half (55%) of the classroom floors observed were dirty. A significant percentage of the floors (59.1%) had cracks and/or potholes. This was attributable to the high population of pupils in classrooms that might have caused a high rate of wear and tear. Also, poor workmanship during construction may have contributed to the occurrence of cracks. However, classrooms with dirty floors did not necessarily have cracks on the floor. There was an association between the cleanliness of classroom floors and water supply. It was observed that schools that had piped water and rain water as main water sources had clean classroom floors while those with boreholes had dirty classroom floors. It meant that water availability was a contributory factor in the cleanliness of classrooms.
Unhygienic conditions in classrooms such as dirty floors and cracks and holes on the floors are health risks to the pupils. Dirty floors are a source of dust particles which increase with overcrowding in the classroom. Such conditions put the pupils in danger of respiratory diseases. For instance, it was noted that respiratory diseases caused a significant amount of illness in pupils. Additional air pollutants may include airborne bacteria and viruses, moulds and fungal growths, and particles from building materials. The holes and cracks may serve as jigger hide out. It may also result in falling of pupils leading to injuries. Injury caused illness in 1.4% of the pupils.
5.3.2 Desks
Classroom furniture should be such that children can sit together in small groups, or gather in a large circle for discussion. The furniture should also allow for individual reading or writing tasks. To achieve this, it is recommended that simple furniture suitable for such flexible activities be used (Barrett, 2012). All schools under study had long, heavy, wooden desks, which could only be placed in rows that reinforce the teacher and blackboard-centred system of learning. These desks neither had adequate space for pupils to keep their books nor does backrest for the physical