Srinagar, March 03: Asma (name changed), a student of a government school has to skip her classes for 4 to 5 days every month. Due to the lack of toilets in her school, she has to stay back home during her days of menstrual cycles.
There are many like Asma who have to miss their classes as their schools either don’t have a facility of separate toilets or don’t have a toilet at all.
“Our school functions from two rooms in a rented building. It doesn’t have a washroom; so we use the common toilet of the building, which is very uncomfortable. In such conditions, how can we take care of our hygiene?” a girl student, wishing not to be named, told Rising Kashmir.
A teacher working in a school said, “Girl students have to struggle to avail of basic facilities at schools which pushes many to drop out.”
Just a few days back, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) announced that it will distribute sanitary napkins in government educational institutes among all female students of 8th to 12th standard.
The teacher said how the department can go with the move when the basic facilities are not in place. “How can we proceed with the promotion and awareness of menstrual hygiene when we don’t have a washroom in the first place? For menstrual hygiene management, separate toilets for girls should be the priority,” she said.
According to the survey by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022, only 53 percent of the schools in the UT have a provision of separate usable toilet blocks for girl students.
The survey has revealed that out of all the schools, around 23 percent of the schools completely lack the provision of having separate toilets for girls.
As per the national survey, 14 percent of the schools have constructed toilet blocks but remain locked or are not functional. The toilets are not functioning due to the lack of class 4th staff to clean the toilets.
“The reason behind the non-functioning of the toilets is that most of the schools are run by teaching staff only and there is no cleaning staff that can clean the washroom. We cannot tell cooks to maintain the toilets as they are hired for cooking purposes only,” said a teacher.
Atul Kumar, Principal Secretary, Education said the problem will be looked into. “We will ensure every school has a washroom,” he added.
