THE Roles Played by Education in the Provision and Sustenance of Potable Water Supply: Case Study of Bosso and Paikoro Local Government Areas of Niger State

Abstract

It is no doubt that education plays vital roles in the running of every sector of life be it health, transport, agriculture, etc. That is the success of every human endeavor is greatly related to how informed the people are. This is also true about the provision and sustenance of potable water. Repeated visits were made by the Author to some communities in Bosso and Paikoro local government areas of Niger State with the view of finding the following: the sponsor(s) of the water points, comparative participation of the communities in the provision and sustenance of the water points, the frequencies of the breakdown of the hand pumps among others. During the visit it was observed that about 95 percent of the cost of provision and sustenance of potable water was the responsibility of the government. This lead to in adequate provision and sustenance of the water points, the frequent breakdowns and lack of maintenance of the hand pumps. This in turn made the issue sustainability very difficult. Proper education of these communities by the Author have lead to a lot of improvement in the provision and sustenance of potable water points. This is indicated in the increase in the number of water points and the rate of hand pump maintenance