Thursday, 05 October 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Several parents in Dehradun have sounded concerned over poor sanitation facilities at the government schools. They observed with alarm that compared to the private schools, the toilets in the government schools are not adequately clean for the children to use. When asked why things are so, the department officials attributed this to the crunch in sanitation staff and insufficient number of toilets in the government-run schools. They further suggested that organising sanitation awareness programmes involving both teachers and students might help improve the unhygienic conditions in these schools.
A parent Bimla Kumari said that the condition of the washrooms in the government school her son has been studying for the past three years is really frightening. “Not just the condition of the washrooms but that of the classrooms is equally bad. I wonder why the education department officers are choosing to sit on this matter while the vulnerable children are falling prey to the microbes. They must now shed their apathy and plunge into improving things. The students must not be allowed to suffer this way,” she said.
Speaking in the same vein, another parent Sanjana Pal said that the condition of the toilets at the government schools is not as good as those in the private schools. “Additionally, due to acute sanitation staff crunch in the government schools, the sanitation facilities like sanitary napkins remain out of bounds for the students. I cannot understand why the education department is ignoring this matter. This involves the students’ health. This is contributing to absenteeism and high dropout rates among the girl students,” she added.
Asked for comment on the matter, the member of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Vinod Kaparwan said that during a recent inspection conducted by the commission at a government school, the toilets were found to be in poor condition. “These unclean washrooms are the founts of germs,” he said. When asked to suggest solutions, he said that an adequate number of sanitation staffers should be appointed for the government schools and the number of washrooms should be increased in proportion to the number of students and teachers.
He further said that the commission is fully aware of its responsibility in this matter. “We stress on organising sanitation awareness campaigns in the government schools from time to time. As per our observation, the teachers and the students of the government schools lack this awareness. So, things must improve in the interests of both the students and the staffers,” he added.
Further, the chief education officer Dehradun Pradeep Singh Rawat said while speaking to this correspondent that regular inspections are being conducted by the education department to ensure that the sanitation standards in the government schools are up to the mark. “In addition, training sessions are being held for teachers to raise their awareness about the importance of sanitation. If any government school is found to have unclean toilets, the department takes appropriate and prompt action to improve the situation,” he added.
