Lack of Toilets, Insufficient Classrooms Major Worries for Government Schools in Nalgonda

Nalgonda: Lack of toilets and insufficient classrooms are adversely impacting the ambience in several schools in the district even as officials eulogise digital classrooms.

The strength of students in the government school at Urumdla of Chityal mandal fell to 35 this year, half that of last year. The parents are not in favour of sending their wards to the government school in the village due to lack of facilities.

Girls accounted for 800 of the 1,254 students enrolled at the ZP High School at Kondamallepally. However, it has a mere 12 toilets. As per norms, one urinal for 20 students was mandatory in the school.

There were no toilets in ZP school at Chinthapally, which boasts of 250 students.

Toilets at ZPHS in Namapuram, Marriguda mandal, were not fit for use. Entering them is a potential health risk as it is full of bushes. Incidentally, despite engineering officials declaring that they were not fit for repair, officials from the education department were evading work even a week into the commencement of a new academic year. In the absence of a compound wall, stray dogs roam freely in the school premises. The menace would be high during the mid-day meal break.

Out of 150 students in ZPHS in Namapuram, 78 students were girls and no toilets in the school were fit for use. The toilets remain in dilapidated condition. Moreover, it would not be possible for students to reach toilets during rains as knee deep water gets stagnated before them.

The school has eight classrooms for 10 classes, which is forcing teachers to run classes for students of two classes in the porch area of the school building.

The five women teachers from the school are also facing the same problem as there are no special toilets for them. They request owners of houses located near the school to use their wash rooms to attend nature calls.

Many parents like Suresh from Namapuram are sending their daughters to private schools in the nearby town despite the financial burden on the family, he added.

A woman teacher of ZPHS of Namapuram, on the condition of anonymity, said that the porch area of the school building was turned into a classroom for two classes. However, the situation worsens when it remains, the teacher said.

State general secretary of People's Voice for Child Rights K. Subash said that denying basic facilities to the students in schools is a violation of child rights. Meanwhile, the DEO B.Bhikshapati refused to comment on the dearth of toilets in government schools.