ELURU: Imagine this. There are 48 mandals in West Godavari district and all but one have no regular mandal education officer to oversee the running of the government schools. Instead, these duties are being executed by in-charge MEOs who are headmasters of different schools. Thus, one can easily imagine the poor conditions prevailing in government schools across the district.
The parents express anguish over the absence of basic facilities like toilets and drinking water in primary and upper primary schools in the district. Those schools which have toilets face the problem of maintaining them due to government’s apathy and some teachers, finding themselves unequal to the task, simply lock the toilets for good.
Parents of the students express anger over this pathetic state of affairs in schools. Jakku Govind of Eluru and father of a student lamented, “We don’t have financial means to get our children admitted to private schools. But there are no minimum facilities in the government schools. In my daughter’s school, there is a toilet but there is no water.”
K Hemalatha, mother of another student from Eluru, was angry over the attitude of officials. “The students have no drinking water facility. They have to carry water from their houses. The government should ensure minimum facilities in its schools. In some rural schools, the students are drinking contaminated water kept in water tanks. Even then we are sending our children to these schools keeping their future in mind,” she said.
Joining their parents in airing their grievances, some students are articulate about the problems they face in the schools. Varsha, a seventh class student, said, “There are no toilets in Kasturiba Municipal Corporation High school in Eluru. The few there are devoid of running water and doors. There is hardly any maintenance of them. With these unhygienic conditions, we fear for our health.” Another girl student Rajitha of fifth standard in a municipal school in Vennavallivaripet, says, “There is no drinking water in the school. Two toilets do stand on the premises but we find them locked by the teachers. We have to go outside to answer the call of nature.”
A teacher, K Srinivas, said that there are toilets in the schools. But, those are not sufficient for the number of students. The government has to take the initiative to construct additional toilets to meet the needs of the students.
District Educational Officer D Madhusudan Rao, reacting to the problems, has said the headmasters concerned have to take the responsibility of providing toilets, water facility in their schools. He said all schools are provided with toilets. In some areas the teachers are taking the responsibility of their maintenance. “In some areas, due to negligence of teachers, toilets become unusable. There is the problem of thieves who steal from schools whatever they can lay their hands on. We will do our best to take all necessary action to maintain the toilets and providing drinking water in the schools.”