Question : Toilets in Schools

(a) the total number of toilets sanctioned under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) by the Government till now;
(b) if so, the details of the funds allocated and disbursed during the last 3 years for the construction of Toilets in Schools, State-wise, year-wise;
(c) whether the absence of toilet facilities is forcing the girl students especially in the country-side to abandon pursuing education; and
(d) the status of steps taken to set up toilets in remaining schools, especially in girl schools, in the country under the SSA programme, State/UT-wise along with an action plan to bridge such gaps?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)
(a) Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), 10.53 lakh toilets have been sanctioned to the States and Union Territories (UTs), since its inception in 2001 till 2017-18.
(b) The Central Government supports States and UTs for creation and augmentation of infrastructure facilities including construction of toilets in government elementary schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Ministry of Human Resource Development releases central share of funds to States and UTs in lump sum taking into consideration the Annual Work Plan of the respective State/UT, norms of the scheme, General Financial Rules and availability of Budget. States and UTs utilize the funds on the activities approved for the scheme in a given year. State/UT-wise and year-wise details of funds allocated and central share released during last three years for the various approved activities including construction of toilets is at Annexure.
(c) and (d) Lack of toilet facilities in schools has been one of the reasons for girls to dropout from schools. In view of this, the Government of India has prioritized the education of girls and launched the Swachh Vidyalaya initiative in collaboration with State/UT Governments, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Private Corporates for provision of separate toilets for girls and boys in all government schools. Under this initiative, 4.17 lakh toilets including 1.91 lakh girls’ toilets were constructed/made functional in 2.61 lakh government schools in one year period upto 15th August, 2015. With this, students in government schools have access to gender segregated toilets. Further, this Ministry annually sanctions toilets in elementary schools under SSA to the States/UTs based on the gap determined by Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and proposals received from States/UTs as per enrollment of the children in schools. The Central Government has encouraged PSUs and private institutes to utilize Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for construction and maintenance of school toilets.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 under section 19 provides for Norms and Standards for a school. The appropriate Governments have the responsibility and mandate to provide school infrastructure including toilets in schools in accordance with the norms prescribed in the Schedule to the RTE Act, 2009 and respective State RTE Rules. All States and UTs have been advised to comply with the provision of the RTE Act, 2009 which inter alia states that every school building should have separate toilets for boys and girls.
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