TIRUCHY: The lack of toilets or poorly maintained toilets are one of the major reasons for girls to drop out of or skip school during their periods every month in government schools in villages. To change this, a teacher in Poovalur Government Higher Secondary School took matters into his own hands.
Last year, on his way to school, Satheesh Kumar saw two of his girl students standing outside a bank, squirming and begging a lady bank official to let them in. He saw her rudely shoo them away. When the girls reached school, Kumar asked the girls why they had been standing outside the bank. He was shocked by their response. They wanted to use the bank toilet as they were having their periods. They told him they never used the school toilet.
This led Kumar, a Science teacher, to discover how bad the condition of the toilet in his school was. A week ago, the school inaugurated a swanky new toilet for girl students and female staff that cost Rs.10.50 lakh. "I initially repaired the existing toilet, but it was not enough. How are 135 students supposed to use a toilet that has just three to four cubicles? I was shocked to know the girls would not use the toilet at school at all. They just used the toilet at home before school started at 8 am and went home at 4 pm," said Kumar.
He won an award in Coimbatore in September 2018 given by a private hospital for best teacher. He was given Rs. 50,000 and he decided to use this money to build a new toilet for the girls in school. "I got a great response. Many people came forward to help me. This has been possible thanks to the funding provided by multiple people," he said.
The construction of the toilet began in January 2019 and was completed in November. There are 14 toilets for the girls and four toilets for teachers while one toilet is differently abled-friendly. Its been built on an 820-sq. ft area. The toilet is equipped with a wash basin, napkin vending machines and incinerators. "We are really happy with the new toilets. It' is a huge relief for us as we do not have to control ourselves for eight hours now," said a girl student of the school.
The donations were all in kind and given by people across India. But the road to building this toilet was not an easy one Like we see in movies, there were attempts to stop the construction, threats and theft. "Seven bags of cement and many boxes of tiles were stolen. The plumbing was damaged, because of which we incurred heavy costs," said Kumar.
But this is not new for this teacher who wants to make government schools equal to private schools. He contributed to building a smart classroom three years ago, a water tank and put up posters highlighting the achievements of the school to attract students. He was also instrumental in getting uniforms for the students every year at a cost of Rs. 1.25 lakhs and umbrellas.
"I received several threats when I put up the posters, but I remain undeterred. I just want to do what is best for the students," said Kumar. The 38-year-old is a favourite with students, as they kept coming to his classroom during their breaks. He imparts practical training. He made his students help him build the smart classroom.They learnt how to paint and put up tiles with the mason. "He is our friend, philosopher and guide," said students in unison.