'Matter Of Shame For All That Female Students, Staff Forced To Urinate In Open': Chhattisgarh HC Takes Suo Moto Note Of Lack Of Toilets In Govt Schools

Taking note of this state of affairs, a bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal directed respondent No. 2, i.e., the Secretary, School Education Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, to file his personal affidavit in the matter before the next date (February 10).

The Court took note of the newspaper report, which stated that due to the lack of toilets in schools, students and staff, particularly female teachers and female students, are affected as they have to go to open grounds to urinate.

The newspaper also reported that this situation has forced many female teachers to adopt unhealthy practices, such as drinking less water to avoid the need to use the toilet. In some cases, female staff members are compelled to use the toilets in the homes of nearby residents, paying a sum of Rs. 200 per month for access.

In its strongly worded order, the division bench wondered how the situation is prevailing when no dearth of funds and crores of rupees are invested by the State every year, and what the authorities responsible for managing the Schools are doing.

“The aforesaid situation may also be one of the reasons as to why, especially the girl students leave the schools and do not complete their primary education. Further, if the teaching staff has to struggle for the most basic amenity of a clean toilet, how can it be expected that they would perform their duty with full dedication especially when the aforesaid situation is taking a toll in the form of their ill health and infections. It is the high time when the responsible authorities of the State are required to wake up from the deep slumber and take concrete steps for betterment of the prevailing situation,” the Court further remarked.

The court added that the aforesaid situation becomes worse for the lady staff especially during their menstrual cycle as there is no toilet in the school, they prefer not to use but they are constrained to use the toilets of the people living nearby.

The court also considred the state of affairs prevailing in Nayapara Basti of Ghutku, where, as per the newspaper report, the lady teachers can go for urination when the girl students form a cover by standing and this school, which is being run in one room of Indira Awas, does not have a toilet and the children urinate in the open ground.

The newspaper report further stated that the teachers and students have to hold back the urge to urinate for a long time.

A similar situation was reported from a primary school in Ward Number 43 of the Municipal Corporation, with 4 female teachers and 102 children and in this school, due to the absence of toilets, the female teachers drink less water so that they do not have to go to the washroom.

The court noted that any have started complaining of kidney infection due to not going to the toilet for hours when they need to urinate, and here, teachers also advise children studying in school to use the toilet at their own homes before coming to school.

The division bench observed that it is a matter of shame for all of us that the students and the staff, especially the girl child and lady staff, are compelled to go for answering nature's call in an open area.

“The said situation can lead to any untoward incident as the girl child and female staff are vulnerable to the antisocial elements of the society. The children studying in the school and the staff of the schools are definitely entitled to a much better environment so far as hygiene is concerned,” the court further emphasised.

Against this backdrop, the court has sought an affidavit from the Secretary of the school Education Department, asking them to wake up from their deep slumber and take concrete steps for the betterment of the prevailing situation.