SANGAREDDY: Sunitha(name changed) generally avoids going to the toilet during her school hours. The stench from the untidy toilet forces Sunitha to relieve herself only once she reaches home after the school hours-- a gap of around six hours. Sunitha goes to a government school in Chapta (K) village of Narayankhed constituency, which is about 90 kilometers away from Sangareddy district. Most of the children who study in this school come from economically backward families, whose parents are either daily-wage labourers or depend on agriculture.
There is only one toilet in her school that has over 500 children and it is never clean.
Though the government schools today are better off than they were some years ago, a basic facility like a toilet is still an issue in this school. A woman teacher working here says, “Despite claims by the Union and State governments about constructing toilets in the school nothing has been done so far.”
“We just have one toilet which is used by students and faculty members.”
Girl students studying there say that on most of the days they avoid using the washroom as they are either shy or don’t feel comfortable to use it, as it is used by boys as well. “On some days the washrooms are so dirty that we have no option but to wait till the school gets over so that we can go home and use the washroom.”
Narayankhed is reportedly the most backward division in the district, but the schools there provide quality education to children. The students who study at Chapata (K) government school are from surrounding thandas --Nagapur, Ujalampad, Nangdath, Sheri thanda, Chakli, Hangirga (K) and Hangirga (B).
B Raju, an English teacher here said,”Usually in these thandas the parents get their children married off as soon as they reach 12-14 years of age, but now the trend has changed.
From past few years there has been an increase in the student enrolment rate as well, but we are scared that the dropout rate will increase if there is not improvement in basic facilities.” Raju added that last year as many as 64 students appeared for SSC examinations and achieved 100 per cent results.
The school principal said that despite repeated requests to the State government and local MLAs, nothing has been done so far.
Most teachers claim that they usually they go to the houses of people who live nearby to the school or go to the nearest Anganwadi centre to use the washroom. The principal said that Zilla Parishad CEO Varshini assured to resolve the issue when she visited the school, but nothing has materialised.
Can ‘holding pee’ affect your health?
In a healthy adult, postponing urination occasionally will not cause problems, but there may be some unwanted effects if it becomes a habit. Possible side effects include general pain, UTI, bladder stretching and kidney stones Sourced from medicalnewstoday.com