VELLORE: In order to build toilets in schools that are lacking in them, a survey is being conducted by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to identify such schools in Vellore district without proper toilet facilities and to build toilets in these schools, according to A Sidambaranathan, Assistant Project Officer, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
The official added, “Twenty-four girl toilets were constructed in government schools in the year 2014-15. Between 2001 and 2014, 701 general toilets have been built by the SSA scheme in the district including 141 girl’s toilets and 206 differently-abled toilets.”
For 2015-16, Vellore SSA has requested more funds from the government to build an additional 576 class rooms and more than 400 toilets in government schools. When asked about the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) development projects in the district, Additional District Project Coordinator Mani said, “School buildings worth Rs 7.5 lakh proposed in 2010-11 were built and implemented in early 2014 by the Public Works Department(PWD). We are allocating Rs 50,000 to each school under the RMSA for acquiring teaching equipment, maintenance of buildings and libraries.” SSA covers needs for students in standard 1 to 8 and RMSA programmes cover needs for students hi high and higher secondary schools.
Children out of school are being specially trained in two ways - Non Residential Special Training Centres (NRSTC) and Residential Special Training Centres (RSTC)-in the district. In 2014, 219 such children between the age group 6 and 14 who dropped out of school were sent to normal schools.