Over six lakh schools lack girls’ toilet

NEW DELHI: With women and child abuse being much in the news, a new study by the human resource development (HRD) ministry has revealed that over 6,20,000 primary and upper primary schools in India lack separate toilets for girls.

According to the survey conducted jointly by HRD ministry, UNICEF and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, only 37.42 percent of schools in India have separate girls’ toilets.

“The situation is quite dismal,” said Arun C. Mathur, chief researcher of the report.

Among the states, Meghalaya is at the bottom of the tally with just 7.71 percent of schools having girls’ toilets.

Other states too fared miserably. Only 9.58 per cent schools in Assam, 9.81 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 11.69 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, 11.78 per cent in Bihar and 12.4 per cent schools in Orissa have separate toilets for girls.