By Ovais Gull
Srinagar: Even as the authorities are claiming to have taken steps to ensure adequate infrastructure and other facilities in the schools, the report available with INS revealed that at least 58 percent schools in the State have either locked the separate provision for girls’ toilet or are not usable.
Notably, the officials in the past have also admitted that absence of toilets for girls has led to the increase in dropout rate of girl students.
However, the authorities seems to have failed to take apt steps to ensure 100 percent useable separate provision for girls’ toilet.
Annual Statistics of Education Report (ASER) 2018 reveals that at least 30.2 percent schools in the State have no separate provision for girls’ toilet, which is a decrease as compared to 34.4 percent in the year 2014.
The report further revealed that 7.4 percent schools in the State have separate provision but are locked. It further added that 14.3 percent schools across Jammu and Kashmir also have separate provision for girls’ toilet and unlocked but are not useable.
The percentage of total locked and not useable girls toilets in the State in 2014 were 10.0 percent and 8.9 percent respectively.
It added that the separate provision for girls toilet that are unlocked and useable across Jammu and Kashmir schools are just 48.2 percent. The useable toilets in 2014 were 46.7 percent.
The report which also mentioned the percentage of general toilets reveal that total useable toilets across JK schools is 73.0 percent, which is 2014 was only 58.1 percent.
It further added that 4.6 schools have no facility of toilets and 22.5 percent schools have toilet facility but are not useable.
