INTRODUCTION

Sanitation is one of the major problems our world is facing. As time goes

by, more and more people tend to disregard cleanliness as their top priority.

Because of this, the United Nations (UN), through the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development, laid seventeen (17) sustainable goals, wherein one

of which is about attaining sanitation both in water and on land. In connection to

the said agenda, there is also the Paris Agreement of 2015, also under the UN,

which addresses the sanitation in order to battle against climate change (United

Nations, 2015).

Furthermore, the Philippines also enacted a law to solve the country’s

problem on sanitation. The Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid

Waste Management Act of 2000, aims to provide guidelines to combat the

ongoing issue on cleanliness.

No matter where you are, a clean area will result to a more efficient and

effective working environment. It will promote productivity and safety. Keeping

your environment will also serve as a sign of respect to the next user. Thus,

reflecting one’s ethics (Eunraquintan, n.d.).

And of course, St. Scholastica’s Academy – Tabunok is not immune to

such problem. As stated in the school’s Student Handbook (2016), the students

need “to be aware of the importance of keeping things clean and orderly.”

Consequently, the school adapted the “5S Practice of Good Housekeeping”:

Seire (sort), Seiton (systematize), Seiso (sweep), Seiketsu (standardize), and

1
Shitsuke (self-discipline) (pp. 54-55 of Student Hanbook 2016 Edition). Aside

from that, there’s also the Cleanliness and Beautification Campaign which

awards the sections with the cleanest classrooms and assigned areas every

week.

However, the school still can’t escape from such problem despite the

rules and programs implemented. The trashes on the school’s ground, the

improper waste segregation, and etc. can be observed. And so, as children of

God, by the Benedictine value of stewardship, we are called to be the protector

of God’s creation, especially in our campus. To address this problem, the

researchers thought of the ‘Clean as You Go’ policy to carry out our mission as

God’s stewards.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In connection to this study, the researchers aim to answer the following

questions:

1. How do Scholasticans perceive cleanliness in the campus?

1.1. What are their attitudes toward it?

2. What is the significance of the ‘Clean as You Go’ policy in SSA-T?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The goals of the ‘Clean as You Go’ policy are to keep the campus clean

and to create self-disciplined students at the same time. This policy will

mandate the students to clean their mess especially after taking their breaking

2
in their respective eating area. Through this, the students will become mindful of

their trashes. Aside from that, this will also lift a part of the maintenance

personnel’s burdens since they will have less to make order on. With this, the

school’s cleanliness will be addressed; thus, will be of great benefit to the

institution. Furthermore, the ‘Clean as You Go’ policy will also hone the

students’ role as stewards of God in their campus.

3
 METHODOLOGY

Gathering of Data

The randomly selected students from each grade level, from grade 7 to

grade 10, were given a questionnaire to determine their perception on the

school’s cleanliness and their respond towards it.

Research Design

This study is quantitative in nature. The data gathered were recorded

and tallied to concretize the result. It also uses a descriptive method in

describing the significance of the ‘Clean as You Go’ policy as an intervention of

the sanitary problem in the campus.

Research Respondents

The respondents are the five selected students from grades 7-10 from

St. Scholastica’s Academy – Tabunok.

Research Environment

The study was conducted in St. Scholastica’s Academy – Tabunok, the

main subject of this study.

Research Instrument

This study utilized a questionnaire with questions relevant to the study.

4
 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

St. Scholastica’s Academy, along with other Benedictine schools,

upholds the 10 Benedictine values practiced by the students. One of these

Benedictine values is Stewardship. It is our responsibility as pro – creators and

as stewards of God’s creation to take charge in maintaining and preserving the

beauty of nature as it is. The thing is that stewardship isn’t limited only in

nature, which is why the researchers decided to conduct a study that focuses

on the cleanliness in the campus. At present there are 1000+ students who

occupy the campus and use the properties of the school. With the growing

population of the students it is timely to conduct a study that addresses the

concern of the school in this matter.

Cleanliness has long been a serious problem in the campus. It seems

that cleanliness has been neglected for years. It is understandable that the

increase of the number of students greatly contributed to it, but that doesn’t

mean the problem will remain as it is. It is in this sense that the researchers

decided to conduct the study in order to addresses and be able to propose a

solution to the problem.

The respondents of the study are composed of the students of St.

Scholastica’s Academy. The number of students as respondents per year level

was evenly divided and was selected randomly.

5
 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The following are the results gathered by the researchers in the survey. The

questions are arranged chronologically based from the questionnaires provided

to the respondents.

1. Do you think the cleanliness in the school needs improvement?

Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10

Yes 5 5 5 5

No 0 0 0 0

The table shows the results concerning the cleanliness of the

campus. The table shows that majority of the students find it necessary for

the school to have improvement in terms of cleanliness.

2. Where in the campus do you most of the time eat?

FIRGURE 1. COMMONLY USED EATING AREAS

Hot Lunch Area Canteen Extension Area St. Scholastica Hall
Covered Court Hallways Mini Forest

10%
5%

10%
50%

25%

6
 The Figure 1 shows that half of the number of respondents eat at the Hot

Lunch Area, next is the Canteen Extensions with 25%, both the St.

Scholastica’s Hall and Mini Forest are occupied by the 10% of the sample size,

and lastly, 5% occupies the hallways.

3. Which of the listed eating areas do you think the needs to improve in

terms of cleanliness?

FIGURE 2. EATING AREAS TO BE IMPROVED

Hot Lunch Area Canteen Extension Area St. Scholastica Hall
Covered Court Hallways Mini Forest

20%
30%

15%

10%
25%

The Figure 2 presents the eating areas in the campus which need

improvement. 30% said that the Hot Lunch Area needs to be improved the

most, followed by the Canteen Extensions with 25%, the Mini Forest with 20%,

next, 15% stated that the Covered Court needs improvement, and 10% said it’s

the hallways.

4. Do you clean your table or the area where you ate before going?

7
 FIGURE 3. PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO AND DON'T
CLEAN THEIR EATING AREAS
Yes No

15%

85%

Based on the data gathered, the number of students who cleans their

eating areas before going is greater than those who don’t with 85% to 15%,

respectively (see Figure 3).

5. Do you clean the tables or area where you can see trashes especially

during breaks?

FIGURE 4. PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO CLEAN

OTHER EATING AREAS OR PLACES IN THE SCHOOL
Yes No

40%

60%

8
 On the data presented in Figure 4, 60% of the sample size doesn’t clean

the eating areas they didn’t utilize despite the trashes seen from these areas.

Meanwhile, 40% do otherwise.

FINDINGS

From the gathered data of the researches, it was found out that all the

respondents deemed that the school’s sanitation needs improvement which is

alarming. It can also be seen that there is a correlation between the number of

students occupying the area and the area’s level of enhancement. The area

with the most occupants is also the area which needs more improvement.

Presumably, it’s because of the degree of utilization of the facility – the more

the students using it, the more it must serve its purpose to the students. Aside

from that, most students clean the areas they have utilized but turn the blind

eye on those areas occupied by others. In this case, the ‘Clean as You Go’

policy must be known to all students, thus, becoming a general knowledge.

CONCLUSION

In order to uphold the value of stewardship, a policy must be created to

augment this value. It is also been confirmed that the institution we are in needs

improvement especially on its sanitation. With this said, the researchers thought

of the ‘Clean as You Go’ policy to address this ongoing problem in the campus.

Taking care of the campus so as to keep its cleanliness should be one of the

major goals of the school. Hence, we will be able to carry out our mission as

God’s stewards.