Andhra Pradesh - Nellore   

Restrooms for girls in schools

Staff Reporter

The move is aimed at improving attendance of girls in schools

NELLORE: For the first time in the country, the School Education Department will construct rest rooms for girls at all Government schools across the State to check absenteeism during menstrual days.

With complaints pouring in about low attendance rate among girls, the School Education Department has made an enquiry to ascertain reasons for the typical trend. And it has been found that most of the girls have not been attending schools during menstrual days primarily due to inhibitions and lack of proper facilities at schools.

"To tide over this problem, the department has chalked out an action plan. As part of it, rest rooms exclusively for girls will be constructed keeping in view of their problems," School Education Minister N. Rajyalakshmi told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Rest rooms will first be constructed at select co-education schools across the State on a pilot project basis. After eliciting views from girl students as well as woman teachers on the project, the same model with improved amenities would be replicated in all Government schools in the State from the next academic year, the Minister said.

And the move is aimed at making girls comfortable attending schools during the `difficult' days. And if possible, the department plans to provide sanitary napkins free of cost to remove inhibitions among girls. Moreover, low cost incinerators for disposal of sanitary napkins in the rest rooms might also be put to use in the rest rooms to ensure clean and healthy environment for girls in the school.

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