The pathetic condition of govt. primary schools in Lucknow is demoralizing the students from attending the school. Not only they have to walk down a trodden path to reach their school but also have face the heat as there are no fans in the classrooms and to make matter worse, absence of toilets force them to defecate in the open.
These conditions even get much worse during the monsoon season as students have to cross the flooded fields in order to reach their school on time.
"There is no approach road to our school. Every day we have to go through this dirty drill to cross the open field which is filled with slush. There is no arrangement of water in our school so that we can wash our dirty feet. We have to sit in our class with feet soaked in mud," said one student studying in the third standard.
"What can I do? I really feel sorry for children who take a risk to reach their school. For students of Class 1 and 2, it is even more difficult. We really don't know how to address the problem," said helpless Kumar, the lone teacher in one primary school in Lucknow.
Same old troubles
- Several students were left neglected as there are no toilets across many primary schools in UP
- The drop-out toll of girls incessantly increased due to lack of proper toilets in schools despite the 19,627 new toilets constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission
- In some primary schools, the existing toilets are in filthy condition due to lack of proper maintenance
- Students had to defecate in the open since the toilets in a government primary school in Gehru are locked
- Lack of proper electricity
As per Right to Education directives, proper maintenance of separate toilets for boys and girls and standard transportation for the girls are one of the key recommendations, according to HT sources.