Lack of proper toilets forces girls to drop out of schools

15 October, 2012

If the government is sincere about the implementation of the Right to Education Act, it has to make sure that separate toilets are provided to girls in the village schools. A major chunk of girls drop out of schools because of lack of neat and separate toilets only.

ONE CAN'T deny the fact that more girls drop out of schools than boys, especially in the countryside. The reasons are many. Some of them could be related to customs and traditions, work culture in villages where women work in fields besides their homes and the lack of separate washrooms for girls.

But one major reason is the thinking among many parents that boys will earn them money and girls can't because they would leave the house after marriage.

Day in and out we get to know about new school projects but the issue with them is that they lack basic amenities for girls students. While boys can answer the call of nature in the nearby bushes of behind the school compound, the girl students can't.

New school projects are coming up in villages but nobody bothers about the sanitation and as such, even if toilets are provided, either they couldn't be locked from inside or they are not cleaned regularly.

If they meet all these parameters, they would be located away from schools, making them insecure for girls.

If the government is serious with the implementation of the Right to Education Act, it has to make sure that girls' are provided with neat and separate toilets.