819 govt schools sans toilets, drinking water

819 govt schools sans toilets, drinking water
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 9
Though education is necessary for the overall development of the children, as many as 819 government schools in the state are functioning without proper drinking water facility and toilets.

As per government documents accessed by The Tribune, 819 government schools (541 middle schools, 125 high schools, 101 higher secondary schools and 52 primary schools) lacked toilets and drinking water facility during the academic session 2010-11.

Though the state government claims that it has been working overtime to provide better education to the students, the scenario is altogether different as the students have to attend schools where even basic facilities are not available.

Infrastructure is also a major issue here, as 4,858 schools do not have their own buildings and are operating from either makeshift structures or rented accommodation, the documents reveal.

Besides, there are 474 primary schools functioning from dilapidated buildings. The vacancies of teacher is another major concern, as nearly 9,000 posts of teacher are lying vacant. The transfer policy also exists on paper only.

The lack of basic facilities, along with vacant posts of teacher, are affecting the results of government schools. In the Class X and XII results declared by the J&K State Board of School Education (BoSE) recently, only a few students from government schools got distinction or their names appeared in the merit list.

Repeated attempts to contact Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed proved futile. However, Peerzada had acknowledged recently that there were a number of things required to done to uplift the educational infrastructure and the education standards in the state.

Courtesy: The Tribune