20 % High Schools Have No Playgrounds, 11% Have No Toilets
JAMMU: A total of 124 schools in the state have no students. This was revealed by the state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar in Legislative Council in Jammu today.
There are 50 schools with zero per cent students in Jammu province while in Kashmir division, 74 schools have zero per cent students, Mr Akhtar said in reply to a question of the National Conference MLC Shahnaz Ganai.
She has pointed about deficiency of teachers in schools in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
Meanwhile according to reports crores of rupees spent under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme during the past few years have gone down the drain as, students in many of the middle and high schools in Jammu and Kashmir remain bereft of basic amenities.
Some sixty percent of schools in Jammu and Kashmir sans basic amenities, including toilet facilities.
A report by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development said that out of 23,234 schools in JK, 14,116 schools are without toilet facility.
As per the report the number of schools without toilet facility for girls is 6294 while the schools for boys without toilet facility are 7822.
Without improving the infrastructure, we cannot compete with private institutions and we cant provide quality education. The government should pay heed towards this issue, said a teacher at Jogi Lanker government middle School which lacks basic amenities including toilet facility.
It is to mention here that under the SSA scheme, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had made mandatory provision of eight basic facilities in schools. Eight basic facilities are: boys toilets, girls toilets, electricity, playground, ramps, library, compound wall and drinking water.
The Supreme Court had also directed all States to ensure that basic toilet facilities, in particular to girl students, are provided in all schools within six months.
Sources revealed that nearly 20 per cent of high schools do not have playgrounds. Eleven per cent and 6.99 per cent of high schools do not have toilets for boys and girls, respectively in the Kashmir valley.
When contacted Education Minister Nayeem Ahktar said that that government is well aware of these missing facilities and efforts are being made to provide these facilities to the schools. All the facilities including toilets will be provided to all government schools in the State, he said. (KNS)
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