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| Edited By: Neeraj Thakur |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 16, 2018, 06:13 AM IST
At a time when the government is trying to convince the rural and tribal parents to send their daughters to schools to tackle gender disparity in the Indian society, the lack of basic amenities in schools — like separate toilets for girls — is hampering its attempt to increase the enrollments of new students at the primary level.
According to an evaluation report prepared by the Planning Commission on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for the period of 2003-07, nearly 60% of schools in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu do not have separate toilet for girls.
According to the report, most schools in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan and West Bengal function without boundary walls. The government has allocated Rs 13,100 crore for the SSA.
On the information technology front, more than 90% of schools in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, MP and Haryana do not have a computer centre. In Rajasthan, not even a single surveyed school had a computer centre.
The Planning Commission data shows 60% of the primary schools are functioning without electricity.
On the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), the report says 40% of schools have a PTR of above 40 and that 30% of the schools are functioning with only teachers.
“Quality of education remains a major issue with levels of achievement varying across states and age groups,” said the report. The knowledge of English is also below satisfactory level, according to the report.
Attempts to boost enrollment of the backward sections has not been successful as there was not significant change in the enrollment of SC/ST children during the period. The mid-day meal programme has been a failure in Assam, Bihar, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, says the report.
