Visakhapatnam: Not a single higher educational institution clinched any rank in the cleanliness and hygiene competition conducted by the HRD Ministry.
The ministry ranked the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) on the basis of cleanliness and hygiene. The parameters for a clean campus were student and toilet ratio, kitchen hygiene, availability of running water, modernity of toilets and kitchen equipment, the green cover on campus, garbage disposal in hostels and academic buildings, disposal techniques and water supply systems.
Additionally, weight-age was given to institutions who adopted a neighbouring locality or village to spread awareness about ‘Swachhta’. About 3,500 institutions including Andhra University and other colleges from the state participated. The top 174 institutions were shortlisted as per criteria after officials from the UGC and AICTE inspected the premises of all 174 institutions. Finally, the top 25 institutions across various categories like universities, technical institutions, colleges and government institutions.
The Andhra University Registrar, V. Umamaheswar Rao, said, “Efforts were taken to improve cleanliness on campus, though this is a continuous process. “We will stress more on the parameters set by the HRD, to get a good rank the next year. Inadequate toilets for students and poor levels of cleanliness and hygiene at the AU remain an issue. “Similarly, for the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar 2017-18, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan who were declared the top three states with a maximum number of schools with five and four star ratings (green and blue category) were given a ‘Certificate of Recognition’. “The UNICEF and the ASCI were the technical and knowledge partners for the Department of School Education and Literacy, in this endeavour”.
