Over 67,000 schools lack electricity or water connection in Madhya Pradesh: Reports

A primary school in Sarotipura, Bhopal does not have electricity or water connection, however, it is not alone as there are 67,902 such schools which are lacking in basic amenities in the state.

"There is no arrangement for electricity or water. There is only one room for standard 1st to 5th, it is very difficult here. We attach boards to different sides of the wall in the single room that we have and make them study. We had got assurances but no help has come from the administration," Anoop Singh, a teacher at the primary school told ANI.

Official stats reveal that there are 855 schools that are forced to function without electricity and other basic amenities in the state capital of Bhopal alone while in the Chhindwara district, which is home of Chief Minister Kamal Nath 2,620 schools are functioning similarly.

All this is happening amidst the state government planning to implement the education system followed in South Korea, owing to which close to 130 officials visited South Korea to understand the methods.

Education minister, Prabhuram Choudhary, who himself has been a part of the delegation which visited South Korea, said that the Kamal Nath government was committed to solving the problems of education sector in the state.

"The Madhya Pradesh government had made allocations for the electrification of some of the primary schools in the state. It is saddening that work for the betterment of the education sector was not done in the state by the governments before us, but we are now trying to bridge the gap," Choudhary told ANI. 

'It will take time to improve the situation across the state because our government got the education sector handed over to us in very bad shape. We are working in this direction," Choudhary added.

BJP MLA Vishwas Sarang, on the other hand, targeted the Kamal Nath government over the condition of the schools in the state.

"Our government did exceptional work in helping the education sector but this government is only interested in electrifying the bungalows of the ministers. All these visits to South Korea are because the leaders of the present government are businessmen," Sarang told ANI.

"They have not yet understood the model of Madhya Pradesh and the country and they want to implement the model of South Korea here. The mid-day meal schemes too are not running smoothly, dress, books to the school children are not being provided and the drop-out rate has risen sharply," he said.