JAGTIAL: At Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) Dharur, located just outside Jagtial district headquarters, nearly 260 boys are forced to depart from their daily routine and take a reluctant field trip every time they need to use the toilet. The 40 girl students, meanwhile, suffer in silence.
The only usable toilet on campus is locked to ensure that the general public does not turn it into its personal powder room.
Forced to answer nature’s call beyond the school walls, students, some barely into their teens, are routinely seen venturing into the woods during breaks, seeking privacy. Even the male teachers have no choice but to head for the woods.
“Public from outside use the toilet when we’re busy in class. The school has no compound wall to stop them. It becomes unhygienic,” defended in-charge headmaster Md Abdul Basith, adding that he unlocks the toilet only during breaks. However, Basith appears to have not considered the logistical challenge of 260 boys competing for the seat in 10 minutes.
“It’s just not possible to accommodate them all. So, many of them go outside,” the headmaster said.
District Educational Officer K Ramu, when contacted, offered the kind of assurance that has come to define public education’s bureaucratic shrug.
“The issue of toilets being locked hasn’t come to my notice,” he insisted, while confirming that the Mana Ooru Mana Badi programme, meant to fix infrastructure issues, has completed its tender process. He added that due to lack of funds, the school’s compound wall and kitchen room remain unfinished. As for toilets? “We do need more, given the number of students,” he agreed, but did not reveal why the existing one is under lock and key.
Meanwhile, beyond the planning, promises and performance (or lack thereof), the one lesson the boys at ZPHS Dharur have learnt is: “When nature calls, be ready to run”.