Progress on power connections but water, toilets still missing at schools

Edu Dept fails to achieve proposed saturation of basic minimum facilities

Progress on power connections but water, toilets still missing at schools

Srinagar: The School Education department has failed to carry out the proposed absolute saturation of basic minimum facilities at schools in J&K within the May 31 deadline, even as electricity connections have been provided to most institutes.
The data provided by Samagra Shiksha to government reveals that 85.80 percent and 62.69 percent schools in the state have been provided internal and external electricity facility respectively, a jump from February when the Education department had admitted that acknowledged over 75 percent schools in the state were without electricity.
Barring electricity, however, the department has not been able to make progress on basic facilities like drinking water and toilets at schools, nearly five months after the deadline set by the government expired.
In January, the General Administration Department had constituted committees in all districts for achieving 100% saturation in toilets, drinking water and electricity in government schools.
While 24 percent of the institutions in J&K were without drinking facility in February, the recent data compiled by the Samagra J&K has acknowledged that around 15 percent schools still lacked the facility.
In terms of toilets at schools, in February, the department, citing the U-DISE data of 2017-18, said there were 438 schools in J&K without any toilets besides over 3,000 institutions lacking a separate toilet facility for boys or girls.
Eight months down the line and five months past the deadline to provide absolute saturation of the basic facilities, the department has failed to plug the meager deficiency.
The committees, set up in January, headed by the concerned deputy commissioners were asked to primarily assess the deficit at schools and prepare DPRs for the purpose.
The committees were also asked to monitor works executed by various departments in collaboration with the Education department.
Secretary, School Education, Sarita Chauhan did not respond to repeated calls made by this reporter.

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