The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Suvidha ensures attendance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Suvidha ensures attendance

J.S. Ifthekhar

Checks dropout level of schoolchildren for want of toilet facility

‘Improper toilet facility is major reason for the heavy dropout rate among girls’
Government plans to replicate the scheme in other parts of the State too

Hyderabad: Women’s literacy remains the pet project of the Government but the scheme to improve classroom attendance of the girl child has received a short shrift. Funds crunch has adversely hit the school sanitation programme – Suvidha.

The programme launched last year in the twin cities ran into rough weather with the Government not releasing the budget this year. For the last three months no payment was made to the workers putting the scheme in jeopardy.

It was only last month that the project got a new lease of life thanks to the initiative taken by the district administration.

A brain child of Hyderabad Collector R.V. Chandravadan, Suvidha aims at containing the dropout level of school children, particularly girls, for want of toilet facility. The programme was taken up on experimental basis in 212 of 276 schools housed in Government owned buildings where toilets are available but maintenance is zero. As a result girls fight shy of coming to school or simply return home to answer the call of nature. “Improper toilet facility is major reason for the heavy dropout rate among girls”, says Mr. Chandravadan

However, with Suvidha the situation has slightly improved. “Girls do not skip classes anymore,” says Basheerunnisa, Headmistress, Government Boys High School, Mallepally I. Same is the case with the Government High School, Vijyanagar Colony. The school has 10 toilets and they are well maintained now, says the school Headmistress, Fouzia Zahera Forooqi. There are a total of 821 Government schools in the city of which 276 are housed in Government buildings, 211 in rented premises and 334 in rent free buildings like community halls.

In Government Girls High school (Telugu), Bazar Guard, teachers contribute money and pay the scavenger, a practice followed by many schools. “There is a scavenger post but no budget,” says Vijaya Kumari, incharge Headmistress.

Under the Suvidha programme a sum of Rs. 1,670 is being incurred on each school per month towards payment of scavenger and material charges.

Next month 40 more schools will be brought in the Suvidha scheme. For a change, sweeping will also be taken care of, said S.M. Ghulam Husain, Additional Project Coordinator, SSA.

The district administration is also planning to provide a ‘girl child friendly room’ in schools for convenience of menstruating students so that they do not skip classes. To start with the facility will be provided in 100 schools.

Encouraged by the good results, the Government is planning to replicate the scheme in other parts of the State also, it is said.

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