Schools must install ROs, water coolers: Punjab education dept

The state education department has directed district education officers of five districts to buy reverse osmosis (RO) systems and water coolers at schools that do not have potable drinking water facility.

The education department has released grants of total ₹96 lakh to Barnala, Bathinda, Mansa, Patiala and Sangrur districts for this. There are around 160 schools in these districts that do not have the facility of potable drinking water.

The department has asked school authorities to complete the work within a month. The department has sent a letter to district education officers (secondary and elementary) of all five districts in this regard.

An official, pleading anonymity, said that the RO systems and water coolers will be installed under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) project of the state government.

According to the state education department, there are 20 schools in Barnala, 40 in Bathinda, 20 in Mansa, 40 in Patiala and 40 in Sangrur district that don’t have the facility of drinking water. The department has released around ₹60,000 per school for this purpose.

“ROs and water coolers will be installed at 138 schools while UV (ultraviolet) filters with water coolers will be installed at 22 schools. The school management committee should buy these ROs and water coolers in accordance with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) guidelines. The schools should complete the work within a month,” the official letter reads.

Earlier, HT had highlighted that around 512 schools in Barnala, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Mansa, Moga and Faridkot district don’t have facilities of potable water.

Patiala district education officer Amarjeet Singh said, “After receiving the letter form the state education department, I have directed the heads of schools concerned to install ROs and water coolers on their premises.”