CHENNAI: Sanitation facilities in more than 50 per cent of CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu is abysmally poor requiring immediate attention, according to a study by the Human Resource Development Ministry.
The study reveals that a number of CBSE schools including Kendriya Vidyalayas and DAV Public Schools in Tamil Nadu rank poor in terms of sanitation and hygiene.
The National Sanitation Rating Initiative (NSSI) in collaboration with MHRD rated all CBSE schools in India according to their sanitation status in five five colour categories - Green, Blue, Yellow, Black and Red.
Institutions which adhered to less than 33 per cent of norms set by NSSI, were put in the Red category. Several top CBSE schools including eight Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) fell in the ‘Red’ category; indicating that the campuses had inadequate toilet and washing facilities.
As a part of the School Quality Assessment and Accreditation, CBSE has instructed all schools to develop proper sanitation facilities by 2017 by adopting the manual developed by NSSI and apply for rating.
This module recommended one toilet for every 80 students and specifically in day schools, one toilet for 40 girls and one urinal for 20 girls.
Following a detailed online-based survey of the facilities, officials inspected the schools to give rating.
Among the 3,200-odd educational institutions rated across the country, 231 CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu figured in the list. Among them, 97 were CBSE schools of which 52 fell in the Red category. Eight KVs including the one on the IIT-Madras campus, Perambalur, Wellington (The Nilgiris), Karaikudi, Dindigul, Trichy, Kalpakkam and Ariyalur were in the Red category.
While only three schools came under the Green category (adherence rate 91-100 %), 15 fell in Blue (75-90 %) , 25 fell in Yellow (50-74 %) and two fell in Black (34-49 %).
The KV in Gill Nagar, Chennai came in the ‘Yellow’ category indicating that sanitation was poor and needs considerable improvement. Only two KVs in Tamil Nadu, one in Dharmapuri and another in Sivaganga managed to secure the ‘Green’ tag.