A national survey [1] in India has revealed that 70% of elementary schools in seven states are without toilet facilities, while 20% of schools in over 10 states have no drinking water. 78% of schools in Arunachal Pradesh and over 73% in Assam have no toilets. This is a key factor in the high drop-out level for girls. In Maghalaya, half of the elementary schools have no access to drinking water supply. At the other end of the spectrum, only 12% of schools in Gujarat have no drinking water, while 9% of schools in Delhi have no toilets and less than 1% have no drinking water. Lakshadweep emerged as the only state with all schools having drinking water facilities.

The study, compiled by the National University of Educational Planning and Organisation (NUEPA), is based on the District Information System for Education data for 2007-08, which was collected from all the 35 states and union territories.

Minister of State for Human Resources Development M.A.A. Fatmi said in Parliament that 265,000 toilets and 193,000 drinking water facilities have been sanctioned under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme for universal elementary education.

[1] NUEPA (2009). Elementary education in India : progress towards UEE : DISE 2007-08 flash statistics. Download here

Related news:

• India: USAID and UNICEF disseminate best practices from successful school sanitation programme, Source South Asia, 18 Jul 2008;
• Pakistan, Islamabad: government schools lack toilets and drinking water, Source South Asia, 28 Aug 2008

Web sites:National University of Educational Planning and Organisation; District Information System for Education; Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Source: The Hindu, 25 Dec 2008

Tags: gender, school sanitation, south asia