01-09-14
* Besides, as many as 639 schools have dysfunctional toilets
with more than half of them in Yavatmal district alone
By Kartik Lokhande
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement and appeal to
construct toilets for girl students in every school has attracted lot of
appreciation. For, it IS the issue in many schools. As far as Vidarbha region
is concerned, official data reveals that 685 schools do not have toilets at all
and in 639 other schools toilets are dysfunctional for want of proper
maintenance.
Of the total 685 schools that do not have toilets, as many
as 421 are schools that do not have toilets for girls. More shocking is the
fact that of these 421 schools that do not have toilets for girl students, more
than half – 223 – are in Naxal-affected and tribal-dominated Gadchiroli
district alone! As far as schools with dysfunctional toilets are concerned, 444
are such that girls toilets are dysfunctional there. Thus, of 639 schools
lacking toilets, 421 are the ones without toilets for girls; and of 639 schools
with dysfunctional toilets, 444 are ones wherein girls’ toilets are
dysfunctional.
As far as Nagpur district is concerned, the situation is
much better. There is only one school without a boys’ toilet, but its name
could not be ascertained from the Education Department. As far as schools with dysfunctional
toilets are concerned, the number is 19 in Nagpur district. Of these, nine have
dysfunctional toilets for girls.
The information in this regard was collected under Unified
District Information System for Education (UDISE), which is maintained by
Central Government for all schools in the country to help improve planning and implementation
of various aspects related to education sector.
An official said that the plan for construction of girls’
toilets in all the schools by the end of this academic year is afoot. Already,
Prime Minister’s appeal to corporate sector to contribute towards construction
of girls’ toilets in schools has evoked good response. In Vidarbha region also,
said an official, efforts are on to find some corporate sponsor. “The biggest
challenge is to get the toilets constructed in schools in remote parts of
Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district,” he added.
Another issue, which the educational institutions that have taken
care to construct toilets, have pointed out to the Education Department is of
regular maintenance of toilets. “Regular inspection holds the key to proper maintenance
of toilets for students in schools. However, in most cases, Education
Department officials do not bother to pay visit. Instead, they ask the schools
to submit data. As a result, many toilets are functional only on paper. In
reality, students have to suffer,” said a Zilla Parishad (ZP) member who is
also associated with an educational institution.
Schools without and
dysfunctional toilets in Vidarbha
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
District Total
Schools Schools without Schools with
toilets dysfunctional toilets
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akola 1,035
12 24
Amravati 1,792
56 12
Bhandara 836
23 06
Buldana 1,566
43 17
Chandrapur 1,683
101 47
Gadchiroli 1,627
304 108
Gondia 1,118
14 17
Nagpur 1,868
01 19
Wardha 998
06 17
Washim 829
17 49
Yavatmal 2,293
108 323
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 15,645
685 639
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Source: UDISE)
Comments
Post a Comment