Over 2,000 government schools in Telangana lack toilet facilities for girls

Thousands of young girls are grappling with indignity and health risks as over 2,000 government-run schools in the State lack toilet facilities. That’s not all. Toilets in another 2,200 government schools went defunct as they were either broken, filthy or lack running water facilities.

These revelations came to the limelight in the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) plus report for the academic year 2023-24.

Of the 29,383 girls and co-educational schools operating under government management, 27,366 schools have toilet facilities, forcing students in 2,017 schools to either relieve themselves in open spaces or hold it back until they reach home.

Due to lack of toilets, several girl students reported urinary tract infections. Worst is the case when girls are on the menstruation cycle. Without a safe and private space, several girl students are being forced to stay home during their periods.

In addition, among the schools with toilet facilities, 25,089 have functional toilets as 2,277 toilets went defunct due to poor maintenance, lack of running water facilities and security in the schools.

At 93.1 per cent, Telangana is lagging behind the national average of 97.1 per cent in terms of schools with toilet facilities for girls. The



State (85.4 per cent) is also far behind the national average of 93.2 per cent with respect to schools with functional toilet facilities for girls.

Similar is the predicament of the young boys studying in the government-run schools in the State. In fact, 4,823 government schools do not have toilet facilities for boys and an additional 2,618 schools lack functional toilets.

At 83.2 per cent with toilet facilities for boys and 74.1 per cent with functional toilet facilities, the State is behind the national average of 94.8 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively.

According to teachers, the construction of toilets, one of the 12 components of ‘Mana Ooru – Mana Badi‘, was stopped mid-way in several schools after the change of the government in the State and due to lack of funds. Later, the construction was not taken up by the government as part of the ‘Amma Adarsha Patashala Committees’.

“One of the main reasons for toilets going defunct is lack of maintenance, adequate and timely release of school grants. Further, there is no security for schools, leaving toilets vulnerable to theft. In several instances, taps were removed from the toilets and we got them fixed. Moreover, there is an issue of running water as well,” said a High School headmaster requesting anonymity.