Banks adopt govt schools for building toilets

 Herald, 30 Sep, 2014

PANJIM: Two banks – the Indian Overseas Bank and Corporation Bank – have joined efforts of the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ cleanliness campaign being propagated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide separate toilet facilities for boys and girls in all government schools. 

 

Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation has also taken up the project in addition to the two banks. 

Education Director G P Bhat told Herald that the two banks have adopted schools and would construct toilet facilities as well as repair the damaged ones. “Those schools, which are in dire need of toilets or repairs, have been prioritised… Schools without second toilet or where toilets are dysfunctional are also included in the list,” he said, maintaining that all government schools have toilet facilities. 

 

Recent figures by the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Ministry of Human Resource Development had indicated that out of 961 government schools across the State, 163 schools are without boys’ toilets while another 22 are without girls’ toilets. Moreover, toilets for girls in 31 schools and toilets for boys in 28 schools are un-usable. Bhat promised that the construction of the toilets would be completed within six months. “All the schools will have separate toilets for boys and girls,” he claimed. 

 

The only hurdle the department faces is that about two-to-three schools situated on rented premises cannot have this facility. “This doesn’t mean these schools are deprived of toilets. We have already made arrangements for toilets some distance away from the school,” he explained. 

 

The department now intends to write to all 65 aided schools which do not have toilets. These schools will have to build toilets at their own cost or rope-in corporates for the project. 

 

The prime minister during his speech on August 15, 2014 had called upon parliamentarians to utilize MPLAD fund for constructing separate toilets for boys and girls in schools within one year.