Kerala - Kochi   

Ensure toilet facilities in schools, State told

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the State government to ensure that toilets, urinals and drinking water facilities were provided at all aided and government schools.

The Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice S.S. Satheesachandran issued the directive when a petition filed by the State government seeking to review a directive to provide these facilities at all the schools came up for hearing.

The directive came on a writ petition filed by the secretary of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, Vadakkanchery zone, in March 2009.

The court said the situation was alarming and the State government had a duty to ensure that such facilities were provided at all schools. These facilities were the basic need of students. They had a right to have such facilities in schools.

The Bench said it was part of their fundamental right. Those principals or mangers who were not aware of these requirements did not deserve to continue in their posts.

The Bench also ordered the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) to ensure that such facilities were provided at all aided schools as well. The DPI should also obtain compliance report regarding the directive for establishing the facilities from the Deputy Directors, District Educational Officers and the Assistant Educational Officers.

The court directed that if any manager or principal of the aided schools failed to comply with the directive, the DPI should issue notice to such managers in terms of the statutory provisions.

The DPI should also give publicity about the need for complying with the directive by the aided school managements in the media. The court said this would enable non-governmental organisations and others to get the school authorities provide these facilities.

The Bench directed the DPI to file an affidavit regarding the compliance with the directive before July 23.

In an affidavit, the government pointed out that expeditious steps had been taken to provide urinals, toilets and drinking water facilities at all government and aided schools.

It also said that the Deputy Directors of Education were directed to ensure that all the basic amenities were put in place in all the schools. The government also said that the Kerala Education Rules did not stipulate the number of urinals and latrines to be established in a school.

As per a circular of the Ministry of Rural Development, a school should have 20-40 urinals and 80-120 toilets. It said that steps had been taken to implement the sanitation campaign programme in all the schools.

In fact, the Suchitha Mission had been entrusted with funds provided by the Central government and also the proportional share chipped in by the State government to establish sanitation facilities in schools.

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