Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jan 16: The government schools in the state are facing shortage of basic minimum facilities like drinking water and toilets.

As per the available statistics, about 6,000 schools spread over 16 academic districts are faced with drinking water shortage. 9,000 schools have no toilet facility.

Prof M R Doreswamy, advisor (educational reforms) of Karnataka government, said that the department of public instruction had written to all the deputy directors of public instruction, asking them to send a list of schools facing shortage of water and toilets, and 16 districts have responded. Students and staff of the schools without facilities are facing inconvenience, he stated. He stated that the students have to carry their own drinking water while the women staff and girl students have to visit nearby houses to use the toilet facility.

 
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He said that the information received from the deputy directors of the districts have been sent to panchayat raj department as this department provides these facilities under certain programmes.

He said that the central and state governments provide good grants for these schemes but they have to be judiciously utilised. "We could have waited till information from all the schools was received. But from March, the new academic year begins and we wish that as far as possible, works should be completed by then. So, information about 16 districts were forwarded to them," he clarified.

Principal secretary in the department of public instruction, S R Umashankar, said that steps will be taken to provide the above facilities in schools. Principal secretary in rural development and panchayat raj department, L K Ateeq, said that works will be undertaken in needy schools under National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme.