From Hildburg Bruns
No privacy, dirt, stench and then paper and soap are missing. Grade 4.4 for Berlin’s school toilets. State Secretary Thorsten Kühne (47, CDU) had actually expected an even worse verdict from Berlin’s students.
For the first Berlin Pee Study, the questionnaires of 949 ninth graders at 17 secondary schools were evaluated by the German Toilet Organization and the University of Bonn.
► 46 percent avoid urination, 85 percent avoid big business. A quarter of students at school eat less to avoid having to walk. “I used to go to the bakery across the street during the break because it was so bad at my school,” reports Aimo Görne (17), chairman of the state student committee.
► 60 percent of school principals confirm that their sanitary facilities have structural damage – including holes in the cubicle walls, worn locks/handles, water stains on the ceiling.
It was clearly observed that vandalism decreases if, in addition to basic cleaning, cleaning is also carried out during the day and soap and paper are always refilled. The cleaning rhythm has been increased in Berlin since 2019, and the funds have been increased by 40 percent to 70 million euros. But apparently not all schools have introduced day cleaning yet.
It also has a positive effect if students are allowed to help design the sanitary rooms themselves. Student spokesman Aimo: “Only 3 percent had a school toilet company. If they don’t get involved, the students don’t know if the topic is being taken seriously.”
Another reason for the toilet problem is the overuse of the schools – there are currently 20,000 students more than places. “We also have to speed up the renovation,” said State Secretary Kühne.