The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government schools still lack infrastructure

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 07, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government schools still lack infrastructure

Chitra V. Ramani

Bangalore: The school building collapse in Bellary last week has brought into focus the issue of safety in schools across the State. A large percentage of government schools in the State lack basic infrastructure in terms of a compound, playground, drinking water, toilets and electricity, which makes it unsafe for children.

Soon after the building collapsed killing one student and injuring several others, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri said he had directed officials of the Department of Public Instruction to conduct a survey of the basic amenities in schools.

Bleak statistics

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has been stressing on providing infrastructure in all schools, including common toilets, girls’ toilets, electricity, playground, library, compound and drinking water. According to the statistics for this year provided by the Department of Public Instruction, 30.04 per cent of government elementary schools in the State do not have general toilets. A whopping 57.89 per cent of elementary schools lack separate girls’ toilets, while 50 per cent do not have playgrounds. Nearly 25 per cent of schools have no access to drinking water, while 34.09 per cent do not have electricity facility. Close to 80 per cent of government elementary schools do not have a compound wall.

Ownership issue

Another issue is with regard to the ownership of schools buildings. Close to 95 per cent of the 44,849 schools managed by the department are in buildings owned by the Government. At least 96 per cent of school buildings in Shimoga, Hassan, Chikballapur, Kolar, Madhugiri, Bijapur, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Ramanagar and Mandya districts are owned by the Government. Officials in the department said that civil works taken up during 2006-07 under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan were nearing completion, while allocations for civil works have been stepped up.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka