37% of Delhi schools do not have clean toilets

Thirty seven percent of Delhi schools do not have clean toilets, leaving children with no choice but to urinate in the open, says a survey of 44 government schools in the national capital.

Thirty seven percent of Delhi schools do not have clean toilets, leaving children with no choice but to urinate in the open, says a survey of 44 government schools in the national capital.

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Conducted by Child Rights and You (CRY) and its partner, Alliance for People's Rights, the survey brings out a grim picture of Delhi schools.

Majority of schools surveyed do not have a regular staff to clean toilets. In 21% schools, toilets have major infrastructure flaws — blocked sewerage, broken doors and no

buckets or mugs.

Twenty four percent schools toilets were found to have no water supply, while 18% had contaminated water.

The survey findings come as a double dampener for the Delhi authorities. According to a February 2012 government ranking of states on school education, Delhi had already slipped in both primary and upper primary education.

Delhi's ranking among 35 states and union territories dropped from the sixth to eighth in upper primary education over the past year and from seventh to eighth in upper primary education over the same period.

The rankings were based on the educational development index calculated for each state by the National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA).

CRY surveyed other states as well. In 48% Uttarakhand schools, children clean their own toilets, while 25% schools have no toilets for girls.

In UP, 94.1% schools in nine districts have a structure for toilets but the absence of fixed doors, toilet pits, lack o f cleanliness and bad smell make them unusable, says the survey.