The Survey included both qualitative and quantitative components. Namely, the Methodology of Global Evaluation and Monitoring of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Conditions elaborated by the United Nations Children’s Fund was used for conducting the Survey. The methodology includes three basic methods: a) face to face interviews with School Principals/administrators, b) infrastructure and pupils’ hygiene behavior observation, and c) focus group discussions composed by the pupils and the teachers.

The general focus for the Survey was the Public Schools of Georgia active for 2013 (2085)

For the Quantitative Component selection size was defined by 600 schools. The selection frame was the list of schools provided by The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.

The Survey used the stratified selection. The following criteria were applied for stratification:

• Region
• Settlement type (town/village)
• Ethnic belonging - teaching language (Georgian/not Georgian, monolingual/ multilingual)

All schools in Georgia were divided into 35 strata. The total number of selected schools (600 schools) was distributed proportionally with the number of schools into the strata. Simple random sample was the sampling method for each stratum.

The margin of error for the quantitative component results not exceeds 5% Countrywide and 10% at Region level. The margin of errors with 95% of reliability in the strata is following:

• Tbilisi - 11%
• Towns - 8-13%
• Villages - 3.9%

For the qualitative Component focus group discussions were held at Public Schools in the capital city and several Regions of Georgia, namely in Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli and Mtsketa-Mtianeti. Focus group discussions were held with school teachers and pupils. While selection of schools for the discussion the size of schools (big, small) were taken into the consideration, as well as location (Capital, other towns, village, mountainous region) and schools with ethnic minorities.

The table below shows the schools and target groups involved in focus group discussions:

In several cases, the focus group discussions were held out of school buildings, at the neutral places, which make it easier to select respondents from different schools. In other cases, conducting the focus group discussions at schools gave researcher the opportunity to on the one hand observe the school sanitation-hygiene conditions on spot and observe the problems; on the other hands increase the motivation of the respondents as they consider the visit of the researcher as a real interest in their problems.

Tools and Field Works

Questionnaire for School Principals, questionnaire for observations and the Focus Group Guides were worked out based on the WASH Methodology elaborated by the United Nations Children’s Fund using the standardized forms. The Survey indicators were discussed with the experts of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and United Nations Children’s Fund Georgia Office.

United Nations Children’s Fund Georgia Office participated also in elaborating the Survey tools, trainings of interviewers/observers in rules of using the survey tools and specific terminology, provided the technical assistance to a Research Group while working on the report.

In total four tools were elaborated for the Survey: observation questionnaire, questionnaire for School Principals and Administrators, and two different Focus Group guides. The field works were preceded by the testing the tools.

The field works were implemented by research company BCG in the beginning of Autumn of 2013.

Field Works and References to the Data

• The research company addressed to the Principals of the selected schools in written explaining the goals and importance of the Survey. After the acquaintance of the issues the School Principals expressed their high interest towards it. According to them their interest and involvement in the Survey was caused by the acuity of the problem and appearance of the interested side.
• In certain cases, the School Principals refused to participate in the Survey based on the letter from the research organization. However, after the communication with the local Education Resource Centers, the problem was solved positively and the mentioned schools participated into the Survey.
• During the assessment process in certain cases, it became necessary to replace the selected schools from the Selection Reserve Database. It caused by the ongoing maintenance works and/or not functioning the school buildings where the pupils were sent to different private buildings.
• The sanitary-hygiene situation of the assessed schools are different which depends on different factors such as location, school size, composition of the pupils, school traditions, school management and etc. Accordingly, the range of the answers given to the questionnaire is wide.
• The main cases the information regarding the seasonal missing of the schools is based on the estimate evaluation of the School Principals and not on the statistics. As the Principals mention there is no this kind of registration any more. The high amount of school missing in the rural areas is connected to the Autumn when the pupils are involved in harvest.
• According to the researchers after receiving the letters, active mobilization was observation in schools. The schools looked cleaner and tidy then as usual. The researches named several facts of speaking with the school cleaners or household managers when they mentioned that they received the order of cleaning or maintenance beforehand from the School Principals.
• In some cases, the water was switched on only for their visit. According to them as a rule the water is closes for the reason of water economy.
• It should be mentioned that the School Principals have the problem of payment of the water fee especially in Tbilisi. According to them, the water fee for schools should not be calculated like it is calculated for the private Companies and the tariffs for schools should be lower.
• According the recommendations of the researchers it is better to have two researches while conducting this kind of assessments, one will get the information about the school using the questionnaire and another will observe the school infrastructure and hygiene behavior. In such cases, we will be able to avoid the influence of information received from the School Principals that will increase the objectivity of the observation.

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