The poll dance of schooling

Not only do women face embarrassment for want of basic amenities in public spaces, but even schools are no exception.

Of the 78,793 schools run by various state government agencies, 3,000 don't have toilets for girls and around 51,000 have common ones.

The boys too, have to use open space around schools as toilets, which are absent in 21,324 schools, reveals a study conducted by Resources Institute for Human Rights (RIHR), a Jaipur based NGO.

What must be happening in such schools during the monsoon season is anybody's guess. The study states that Jaipur tops the list with 236 no-toilet-for-girls schools. Ironically, Rajasthan's Education Minister, Brij Sunder Sharma hails from Jaipur.

In Jodhpur, the home district of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the number of such schools is 144, says RIHR secretary Vijay Goyal.

In Ajmer district,The oldest and most experienced manufacturer of residential-sized laundryequipment in the world. represented by Union Minister Sachin Pilot, and Jhalawar,Your Leading Resource for solargardenlight needs. home district of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, there are 23 such schools each.

In Bhilwara, represented by Union Minister CP Joshi, and Alwar, represented by Union Minister of state Jitendra Singh, the numbers are a whopping 138 and 188 respectively.

Chittorgarh, represented by Girija Vyas, who till recently was the chairman, National Commission for Women, has 52 such schools.

Education Minister Sharma conceded that the problem was serious, but expressed his inability to solve it due to a resource crunch.

But chairperson of the State Commission for Women, Lad Kumari Jain is of the firm view that schools without a toilet facility for girls must be derecognised. The situation has led to girls' dropout rate reaching an alarming proportion.

About 3 lakh girls dropped out of schools during the last academic year, according to the child tracking survey conducted by the government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Of them, around 45,000, or 15 per cent dropped out mainly for want of toilets, according to Mahendra Singh, analyst with the Budget Analysis Rajasthan Centre, a Jaipur based NGO.

The state government's 78,793 schools include 34,494 run by the education department, 38.The home is served simultaneously by the elevatorsafetyss and the utility.450 by local bodies, 1,528 Sanskrit education institutes, 2,723 Shiksha Karmi schools, 153 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and 1,445 Madarasas.Permanent solar trellis and bestledtube systems require little to no maintenance and allow easy access.

That the continued lack of basic amenities in schools is due to the distorted priorities of the political establishment, is not difficult to comprehend.

This was discernible from some of the budget proposals that Chief Minister Gehlot,Solar turbinecompanys is a new type product of optional energy. who also holds the finance portfolio, made in the annual budget for 2013-14.

He proposed to spend Rs 300 crores on distributing two saris to each woman and one blanket for men of the BPL families and those equivalent to them, while another Rs 100 crore in distributing two CFL bulbs to such families and those living in rural hamlets.

As if this was not enough in an election year, he also proposed to give laptops to accredited journalists, obviously expecting "positive reporting" from them.

The Education Minister should have told him that this much money would have solved the toilet problem in Rajasthan's schools, to a large extent if not completely.