Nayagarh: Amidst Central and state government’s Swachh Bharat campaigns comes a shocking report: Many schools in Nayagarh district don’t have toilets. And, the authorities have done little about it.
According to a report Tuesday, students in over 140 schools in Nayagarh district relieve themselves in open due to lack of toilets in their school premises.
While the government is laying stress on personal hygiene and cleanliness and keeping our surroundings clean, the administration has virtually closed its eyes towards constructing toilets in these schools.
As a result, students in these schools are forced to relieve themselves in grounds outside while they look for pond embankments to attend to nature’s call.
According to available reports, over 140 schools in eight blocks of the district do not have toilets for the students. These schools also do not have drinking water facilities for the students. While some of the students bring water in bottles to schools, the rest of them remain thirsty in the absence of drinking water facilities. The cooks depend on the wells and tube wells outside to get water for preparation of midday meals
There are over 1,142 government primary and upper primary schools in the district with a total strength of 96,919 students.
While 35 of these schools do not have toilets for girls, 105 schools lack toilets for boys.
Left with no alternative, the students often visit their homes or nearby grounds to relieve themselves or to the ponds near their schools to attend to the nature’s call. While some of the schools in the district have a number of toilets, these schools do not have a single toilet.
This incongruity has angered the residents and guardians who blame it on the officials of district primary education project authority for neglecting construction of toilets in these schools.
While the administration, in collaboration with the district education officials, is undertaking programmes to teach the students on cleanliness, it has done little in instilling a sense of self-respect in them by constructing toilets in their schools.
This has happened due to the apathetic attitude of the district officials towards the development of these schools.
When contacted, Jeetendra Kumar Sahoo, sub-collector (in-charge)-cum- project coordinator Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan, said steps are being taken to upgrade the infrastructures of these schools. PNN
